Visibility

By: Aviantei

Epilogue: Tadaima

Akashi Seijuro disappeared from Airi's life as suddenly as his arrival had been—and with even less words spoken. A part of Airi was disappointed; she had been looking forward to getting to know Tetsuya's middle school friend more, but it seemed that now wasn't the time for such things. Still, it was sad that Akashi had spoken more words to her mother than the girl herself.

"Don't worry," Tetsuya said, his thumb tracing circles on the back of Airi's hand, "we'll see him and Kaizuto-san again. It'll just take a little bit of time."

Airi could accept that. However, it would have been nice to have a distraction from what all was going on. Eiko spent the remainder of the day either on the phone or in the company of Noboru once he got home, and Airi decided it would be best to not get involved in the conversation unless asked. Youta had started with different intentions, but had ended up almost falling asleep as he stood at the corner of the hallway, trying to listen in. He gave up and went to bed after that.

Airi, on the other hand, couldn't sleep so easily. She was tired, yes, but a combination of nerves and excitement kept her up. Tetsuya stayed with her, just lying down on Airi's bed, holding hands. They didn't say much, but it was fine just the way it was. As long as they were together, Airi felt like she didn't have to worry.

Did that really happen, though? Oka-san and Oto-san haven't come in to say anything, so I don't think we're going to have to pack up anytime soon. I just don't know. It's hard to think straight with all that happened. I really do think we'll be okay, though.

Airi squeezed Tetsuya's hand. He squeezed back. Airi measured out her breaths, keeping them even, and tried to imagine what her ceiling looked like.

"You're both grounded," Eiko announced at the breakfast table the next morning. The words made Airi jump, but she didn't feel too bad about it. Youta had whispered to her that some of the boxes in the kitchen were open and half empty, a sign that they were unpacked. It was looking more and more like the Watanabe family would be staying in one place. "I understand what you were trying to accomplish, but that doesn't make running away any more acceptable. As such, you two are only to leave the house for school for the next two weeks, and I want you home straight afterwards."

Sitting right beside her, Youta flinched. Airi stopped trying to pick up a piece of her breakfast and turned towards their mother. "Nii-san joined the basketball club again," she announced.

There was silence at the table, and even Noboru had stopped halfway through standing up in his chair. Youta made a small sound in the back of his throat; he was probably blushing. Eiko's next words didn't come out, and her mouth made an audible sound as it closed.

"It's almost the time in the year for the Inter High, isn't it?" Noboru said. Airi and Youta nodded within seconds of each other. Their father laughed a bit, and Airi sensed his smile, remembering how his eyes would crinkle with the action. "Well, I think that club responsibilities count as part of school, don't you, Ei-chan?"

Eiko sighed, and Airi tensed up a bit. After all this, she wanted Youta to be able to play basketball again. "I suppose so," the Watanabe matriarch allowed. "We need to know your practice and game schedules beforehand, though, as soon as possible. Do you have practice after school today, Youta?"

"Tomorrow," Youta answered. "And Thursday and Saturday this week, too. Starting next week, Coach wants us to have practice every day to prepare for our next game."

Noboru finally stood up, walking to the counter, scraping a fork against a bowl as he added more food the table. "So, are you going to be playing, then?" he asked. "You were always pretty good back in middle school."

If Airi had to guess, Youta's cheeks were probably even redder than before. "Not yet. I'm still pretty rusty, though I think I've been getting better. If I keep trying, I'm sure I'll be able to play soon, though." He smiled, and it was the brightest one Airi had sensed from him in months. "Seirin took the Winter Cup last year, so I want to be good enough to help them out."

Airi picked up her chopsticks again, soothed by the easy atmosphere of the conversation. She managed to secure a piece of fish, and chewed it slowly before swallowing. "So then are we staying?" she asked.

There was another silence at the table. Airi felt bad for breaking the mood, but she realized she had to know. Even if her parents weren't absolutely certain, she wanted to be on the same page as them. Now, if not beforehand, was finally the time to communicate.

"It's not as set in stone as you would like," Eiko said slowly. From the sound of her mother's voice, Airi could tell she was looking down. "This job offer is good—incredible, really—but we still need a bit more time before we make a final decision." Taking an extra breath, Eiko turned her head back up. "At the very least, we're going to try. We just need to be careful."

"Look after your sister," Noboru said, an uncommon seriousness in his tone. "And, Ai-chan, make sure you look after your brother." His voice lightened up. "If this is going to work, we all need to work together, okay?"

Airi nodded. "I understand," she said. She wasn't scared. This would be easy.

"We'll be fine," Youta said. His eyes darted towards his sister, and they shared smiles. "We don't have to take care of each other alone anymore."

"Man, that's crazy," Miura said before taking a large, audible sip from his juice box. "Though, I guess it doesn't matter how crazy it was as long as it worked out. Besides, in the end, things will settle down and we'll go back to the usual, right?"

Airi couldn't help but feel like Miura was right. Still, she giggled. "Nii-san and I really haven't had a 'usual' since we've gotten here, Miura-senpai," she said. The third-year boy shrugged. "Still, I think it'll be nice. I look forward to finding out what my normal life here is like."

"Ah, damn," Youta muttered, sitting up from digging through his bag. "Sorry, Ai-chan, I forgot the drinks Oyaji got for us at home. I'm gonna go grab some real quick, okay? Is juice alright?"

Airi nodded her approval. Youta knew all her favorite flavors from years of being in charge of vending machines, anyway, so she trusted his judgment.

"I'll come, too, Watanabe-kun," Tetsuya said just as suddenly. He had been quiet for the most part of the meal, slowly working away on a small bento Chinatsu had prepared for him. The rattle of plastic as he put it together showed that he was finished. "I think I want to have something more to eat. Maybe dessert…"

"You better not let Coach hear you say that," Youta commented, but he didn't reject the other boy's company. They walked off together, leaving Airi alone with Miura.

Airi had accepted the third-year boy's presence in her life back at the hospital, but that didn't mean she was one-hundred percent certain about him. Back then, she had sensed that he was being honest, and so had forgiven him. Despite what she wanted, though, being alone with him still brought up unpleasant memories.

"Miura-senpai," Airi said, trying to keep her voice even, "what happened between you and Sakamoto-san?" Miura paused, probably staring at her. She tried to imagine how she would feel in his situation—shocked, probably. "I mean, it's just, you started spending all this time with us, so…"

"Sakamoto, huh?" Miura said, a musing quality to his words. "You sure do have interesting tastes in conversations, Wata-chan." Airi considered retracting the question, but Miura continued before she could. "You see, it works a little bit like this. Sakamoto and I were part of the same group of friends in our first year. Over time, she really started getting bitchier, so everyone else got out, and I didn't.

"Regardless of the reasons, after our little…encounter with you, she ditched me." Miura leaned back in his chair, his voice directed at the ceiling. "I dunno why, maybe because I tried talking to Youta-kun. In the end, though, I don't care. Sakamoto isn't someone I want to associate with anymore, so I kind of stopped caring." He shifted, head tilting to the side. "I guess that makes me a bad person, huh?"

"N-no, not at all," Airi stammered. She wasn't sure what else to say. "I…I really am glad that you chose to be our friend, Miura-senpai." That much was the truth.

Miura's face brightened into a smile. Airi was getting better at reading his expressions, and she offered a small smile back. "Well, I'm glad you think that." The third-year chuckled a bit, an almost self-depreciating sound. "Though it looks like there are some people that don't quite share your sentiments, Wata-chan."

Airi had been focused so much on Miura that she hadn't noticed the person approaching behind her. Widening her perception, though, she was able to read their body language easily. "Ah, good afternoon, Kagami-san."

The redheaded basketball player gave a small grunt in response. While Youta had started to warm up to Miura's presence, the same couldn't be said for everyone. Airi frowned a little bit. It was reasonable for Kagami to not trust Miura yet, but she still wished…

"I think I'll head back to my own classroom now," Miura said, almost off-handedly. There was the crinkle of plastic wrappers as he gathered up his trash. "Thanks for letting me have lunch with you, Wata-chan. Send my regards to the others."

Miura returned his borrowed chair to its respective desk before leaving. Airi felt a bit sad, but she couldn't deny the relief that she also experienced. With that, she kept her mouth shut. There was no sense in lecturing Kagami when her own feelings weren't set in stone yet.

"Listen, Watanabe, that guy—" Kagami started.

"I don't think now's the time to worry about such things," Airi interrupted, making sure she was able to smile before turning to face her new conversation partner. "I've had a tiring past couple of weeks, Kagami-san. If you don't mind, can we talk about happier topics?"

Kagami's entire disposition shifted, his tension now coming from nervousness. "Yeah, sure." It was clear that he didn't have plans to say anything else. As such, Airi was now responsible for the conversation.

"Tetsuya-kun probably already told you, but my family's going to be staying here," she said. Kagami gave a sound of confirmation as he nodded. "So, I was wondering if maybe you could teach me to cook a bit more? I have my family to help for now, but I want to be able to do more things on my own. You did such a good job last time, so I was hoping that you'd be willing to help out again?"

To be honest, Airi really hadn't been considering it, so she wouldn't have been too hurt if Kagami shot down the offer. But the more she said it, the nicer it sounded. Things were going to be busy lately, so if she could help her family out in the kitchen, it would make things a little bit easier.

And, eventually, she and Tetsuya might have the chance to move in together so…

"Yeah, I can do that," Kagami agreed, traces of nervousness still in his words. It was enough for Airi to lose focus on her halfway pulled together daydream. "We're gonna be busy with Inter High, but I'll let you know when I have free time to spare, alright?"

Airi's smile widened. "That sounds perfectly fine. Thank you, Kagami-san."

"Watanabe-san, Watanabe-kun," said the by now familiar voice of Onishi. The twins and Tetsuya stopped in one of classroom's doorways on their way out. "Sorry to interrupt you on the way out, but you both have had several absences from school. I was wondering if you two would be willing to do some extra cleaning duty shifts this next month, just so everyone has an equal share of work." The class representative paused, observing Airi. "Although, I suppose you don't have to do as much if you don't feel up to it Watanabe-san."

"I'm perfectly willing to do my share, Onishi-san," Airi responded. "Like I said when I first arrived here, there's no need to treat me any differently. As long as I'm paired up with Nii-san or Tetsuya-kun, any margin of error that my lack of eyesight may cause should be easily eliminated."

The words came out a bit harsher than Airi had intended, but she didn't go to apologize. If there was anything this whole mess had taught her was the importance of being able to put her foot down.

"I was referring more to your recent stay in the hospital than your eyes," Onishi responded. She didn't sound hurt by Airi's accusation at all, which made the latter girl's guilt fade out.

Without meaning to, Airi's hand reached up to her face, fingertips brushing against scar tissue. She had almost forgotten they were there, but didn't want to ask what they looked like, not with Onishi standing there. Airi forced her hand down and gripped onto the fabric of her skirt to keep it in place.

"I'll be fine," Airi said. Her voice thankfully didn't have any shakes. "Thank you for your concern, Onishi-san, but I feel in tip-top shape, so don't hesitate to schedule me."

"Alright." Onishi's focus shifted. "And you, Watanabe-kun?" she asked, sounding almost bored.

Youta tossed a glance to Tetsuya. "Well, as long as Coach won't chew me out for being late for practice, just keep me paired up with Ai-chan, I guess," he said. Tetsuya didn't offer any objections, so Airi supposed that the school mandated duty was something that Aida could understand.

"Aha, you two are still here!" the voice of the Seirin coach echoed down the hall. Aida's footsteps echoed as she ran, and Onishi averted her gaze by returning to the classroom. "Kuroko-kun gave everyone the good news last night. On the behalf of the basketball club, congratulations!"

Airi didn't think that congratulations was the right word for the situation, but she appreciated the sentiment nonetheless. "Thank you, Aida-senpai," she said. Aida gave a happy chuckle in response, which was cut off by the sound of vibrating.

Airi easily identified the sound as coming from Tetsuya's pocket, giving a curious look to her boyfriend. "It's Kise-kun," he supplied once the phone was in his hand. "Excuse me, I'll be taking this," Tetsuya apologized before stepping down the hall.

"So as I was saying," Aida continued, "we're all glad that everything worked out. Sorry we couldn't do much to help out, though…"

Airi was about to object, but Youta beat her to it. "Don't think like that, Coach," he said, a surprising amount of earnestness in his voice. "Really, Ai-chan and I were just glad to that we had people watching out for us." He looked to Airi for confirmation, and she nodded to emphasize the point. It had been a long time since they had been able to rely on people outside the family. "Just having you all around really helped, so don't sell yourselves short."

"Well, you two definitely made up your minds," Aida commented. She smiled, but Airi sensed some other sort of motivation out of it. "I just hope you can bring all that enthusiasm onto the court, Watanabe-kun. I started working on improvements to your training regimen the other day, so you better be ready!"

At the words 'training regimen,' Youta stiffened up. Airi got the impression that maybe it was a good thing she had never decided to be an athlete.

"Oh, that's right!" Youta exclaimed, a nervous laugh punctuating his sentence. "Ai-chan and I kinda got ourselves grounded, so unless it's for school or club, we're supposed to be home. Do you think you could gimme a hard copy of our schedule so my parents know what we're up to?"

"Yeah, I don't think anyone's parents were happy after the stunt we pulled the other day." Aida scratched the back of her head and sighed. Airi got the impression that the Seirin coach had never met Tetsuya's mother. "Still, that's reasonable enough. I'll give you something to take home tomorrow at practice, okay?"

"Thanks, Coach."

The conversation served as a reminder of how long they had been standing around for. Airi cleared her throat. "We should probably get going, Nii-san," she suggested. "I think that Oto-san's going to be home this afternoon, so we don't want to take too much time…"

"Then I guess that we should walk and talk, then," Tetsuya said, returning to the group. Youta bristled at the sudden appearance, but didn't cry out. He was improving at least. "Can you do both at once, Airi-san? Kise-kun wants to talk to you."

"Yeah, that's Akashicchi for you," Kise said on the other end of the phone. Tetsuya had offered to hold Airi's hand and guide her so she could focus on the conversation with his friend. Even though Tetsuya had already shared the story with him, Kise insisted on having Airi recount it as well. "Still, I guess it doesn't matter much how things worked out, so long as you and Kurokocchi can stay together, huh?"

Airi blushed at the words, grateful that Kise couldn't see over the phone. Really, it wasn't as if this whole thing had been for the sake of her relationship. There were other factors, too! Of course, Airi knew that since she was getting so worked up about it meant that she was genuinely happy that she could stay with Tetsuya…

"Kise-san, that's not what I was focusing on," Airi said in an attempt to diffuse the blonde's theory. She was trying, but she just wasn't able to keep up with him yet.

"Oh? Come on, Airicchi, I know you and Kurokocchi really like each other. There's no need to hide it!"

"Well, that's…" she stammered. "Well what about you and Mayurama-san?" The words left her mouth before she could stop them. It was a pathetic retort, but Kise seemed to take the bait anyway.

"Eh, Natsumicchi?" Airi had to repress a snicker. They were on a first name basis, huh? "Well, I mean, we've been doing pretty good for how busy we both are… Oh, I know! Airicchi, we should all go on a double date sometime! It'll be lots of fun, you know. Kurokocchi and I can talk about it and make a plan, okay?"

A double date? Airi had hardly adjusted to the fact that she could actually go on dates now, and she didn't know if she was ready to widen the experience yet or not. Still, she trusted Kise, and Mayurama had seemed nice enough in the short exchanges they had had. It sounded fun. "Alright, then I'll leave it to you and Tetsuya-kun, Kise-san," she agreed.

Besides, the only thing she needed to do to get used to the dating atmosphere was to go on more dates. She could handle that much.

"Alright! I'll definitely have to free up some time in my schedule for this." Already, Kise sounded like he was ready to go, combined with all the enthusiasm of a small child. Airi made a mental note to get plenty of sleep the night before the date actually happened. Running around with Kise seemed exhausting.

Tetsuya squeezed Airi's hand, and the girl realized they had come to a stop, and the atmosphere of the place was as familiar. "Ah, I'm sorry, Kise-san. We just got to Tetsuya's house and I need to give him his phone back. Would you mind if we talked some other time?"

Kise let out a playful whine, and Airi could easily guess he was pouting. "Okay, Airicchi. Have a good day. Oh, and tell Watanabecchi that I hope to play basketball against him sometime soon, alright?"

"Will do, Kise-san."

Tetsuya secured his phone in his pocket before opening the door to his house. With the action, the sound of barking became much clearer, and Nigou bolted out the doorway, nearly colliding with Airi's legs. She managed to keep her balance and leaned down to pet the dog's head, enjoying the feel of his soft fur.

"Oh, it's all three of you," Chinatsu commented. "No wonder Nigou was making such a racket. Welcome home, Tetsuya." The woman leaned in to kiss her son on the top of the head. Tetsuya blushed, and Airi managed to suppress her giggle. Youta's snicker, on the other hand, was fully audible. "And how are you two feeling today?"

Surprisingly, Chinatsu was the first one to ask that. Everyone else had just been glad to hear the good news. Then again, Chinatsu had seen Airi and Youta when they were desperate, on their last legs and too worn out to act like they were fine. That knowledge made being honest easier.

"Tired," Airi said, "but also a lot better." Nigou pushed his head against her hand, so she went back to petting him on autopilot. "I guess since I don't have to worry so much anymore and can relax, all the exhaustion just hit me at once."

"Same," Youta agreed. He started to toy with the zipper on his uniform, the small metal making an equally small jingle. "It's weird, though. As crappy as that sounds, it actually feels good. Being able to feel worn out."

They were on the exact same wavelength. Airi hadn't noticed before, but it was actually the first time that they had been in a long time. At some point, their desires had pulled away from each other's. Now that they were almost synchronized again, the apprehension Airi had been holding onto had disappeared.

Chinatsu nodded at the words, full of understanding. "While I wish kids your age didn't have to worry about such things, I'm glad that you can accept it," she said. "Learning to deal with the aftermath of a crisis is almost as important as dealing with the actual problem itself." The woman took a deep breath and Airi did the same. The smell of the nearby flower garden was sweet. "Of course, I don't want you two ending up with a problem again, but remember that you can always come here, okay?"

Airi almost protested about not wanting to be a burden, but she stopped herself. Chinatsu hadn't considered the twins a burden when they had been here before, and neither had Tetsuya. The same held true for the Seirin Basketball Club and Miura and Kise. All of the people that had entered Airi's life since she had moved genuinely cared.

"Thank you," Airi said, for herself and Youta. She wondered if she could keep saying the words as many times as she felt like she needed to and still sound genuine. She didn't want the words to lose their meaning.

Another phone vibrated, this time Youta's. The signal was shorter, making it an email as opposed to a call. Air could sense her brother grimacing as he read over the message. "Ah, we should get going. Oyaji's wondering what's taking us so long," he reported.

Airi nodded. "Alright." She secured Nigou's head between her fingers, making sure not to grip to hard as she planted a kiss on the dog's forehead. "Pass that on to Tetsuya-kun for me, will you?" she whispered.

Nigou barked as Airi stood up. The girl kept her attention on Tetsuya for a few more seconds, wishing she didn't have to leave so quickly. The boy only smiled, though, the image as clear as day to her. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said.

The words were simple, but they made a warmth bloom in Airi's chest. It was more than just the fact that she and Tetsuya were able to see each other the next day. It was that she now had someone new to say those words to her, someone she wanted to be able to see day after day after day.

Someone that she could tell those words to.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Airi said, and the words were filled with more emotion than she had ever managed to speak in her whole life.

They ran home. Youta was a bit faster than Airi, but he always kept track of her, made sure she was fine. It was almost like walking home, except Airi had to make her memorized patterns of the streets go faster. She didn't really do things like run much, either, but she found it easy enough once she got into the rhythm, almost being able to do it without thinking or feeling her muscles complain.

She didn't mean to, but she ended up thinking. What if Seirin had managed to win the Miyashita Charity Tournament, what if she had accepted the money Youta had got on loan? There were other consequences beyond those actions, but Airi was only thinking about the one where she had her eyes again, where she could see the world. She'd be able to see the streets she was running past now, she'd be able to see her brother again…

…she would have been able to see the blurry image of Tetsuya properly, to know exactly how he looked at her.

Airi normally would have reprimanded herself for having such thoughts. She always reprimanded Youta. But for the moment, she allowed it, allowed herself to drag up memories of when her eyes worked and pretend like that was still the case now, that she could open her eyes and see.

She didn't do it, though. She could have opened her eyes and been treated to a blurry vision of the world, but she didn't. She didn't need to. She had practiced for years, and she could already see the streets, see Youta running ahead of her, see their house coming into view, all behind closed eyelids.

She could see her friends, could learn so much from them, because when she was around all the people that entered her life she could see more than she ever had back in Sendai, because they were all showing her and Youta a bigger world than they had ever imagined being a part of.

The twins slowed down as they jogged down the path to their door, both stopping at the welcome mat. Both of them were trying to catch their breath, though Airi was breathing far harder than her brother needed to. Still, she felt good, the same as before—exhausted but happy.

"Nii-san," she gasped out between breaths. There was no need for apologies or reconciling between them. Not when they already knew. "We're here. So can we, can we say it together?"

Even asking that was silly. Youta chuckled. He already knew. Of course he knew. "Yeah," he agreed. "Yeah, let's do it."

They took a moment to catch the last of their breath. Airi still felt a bit light headed, but she didn't care. She turned to Youta. He nodded, and she nodded back. Youta reached for the doorknob, they took a deep breath together, and he turned it, opening up the way to the house.

"We're home!" they called in unison.

And with a laugh and a smile in his voice, their father called, "Welcome back!"

This is our home, Airi thought.

And she could see it, too.

End

Did someone order a way too long epilogue?

But in all seriousness, thank you, thank you all so much.

Thanks to Tetsuyaa, blueorangatan, CherryPop0120, Tamani, Guest, sunlightxiii, kimaw31, as-in-now-nah, malkshure, Sigur-Rose, Just Shaunti, CherryBlossomHimeSakura, and Nube2013 for your respective reviews, favorites, and follows.

Extra thanks again to Cherry for being a wonderful constant reader, reviewer, and conversation partner. Sorry for not being able to talk to you as much as usual these past few chapters, but know your support has been amazing.

Thanks to anyone that has read, reading, or will read this story in the future. To date, Visibility is my longest (words and chapters), most reviewed, most viewed, most favorited, and most followed story. I cannot thank you enough.

And, so, the story of Airi and Youta has come to an end. So what will be next?

Possibility, the sequel to Visibility, is still in major early development phases. If you have any requests, ideas, or saw some loose ends in this story, please lemme know and I'll try to cover what I can once I start to write it.

Reliability, the story of Kaizuto Megumi, will start sometime in the summer, so keep an eye out.

Haha, I also have a slew of Kuroko no Basuke one shots floating around if you want to read more of my KnB work. In addition, I write for way too many fandoms so there might be something floating around in my archive that you might like if you don't want to wait.

I'm also working on Xiān Kè Lái, a Shaman King fic in ten weekly parts, for Shibuya Operation - Story Storm as a writing challenge to myself.

And if this is where we part ways as a writer and reader, I hope I was able to give you something to enjoy in our time together.

Once again, thank you all so much. I hope to hear from you or see your username again.

-Aviantei

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