What Does a Sibling Mean?

What does a sibling mean to you?

The question made Kido stop to think. What did her siblings mean to her? They were the world, and yet at the same time, they would always harass her. Or rather, Kano would, and make up for Seto's lack of doing so. Still, they were Kido's foster siblings, though close as regular siblings for sure, and in the days of high school, they were together practically all the time. Being in the same classes helped.

Kido knew that she valued her siblings, and they her, but what were they to her? What meaning did they give her, what chord in her mind did they strike? Kido glanced up at the ceiling, present but absent at the same time.

Seto, her youngest brother, was a sweet caring little thing. Or, that was how Kido used to think of him, as a child despite being the same age, as someone to be mindful of and take care of. Seto's old outbursts of tears, the pouting glances, and just the ease at which he gave in really cemented that image. But now, Seto was no longer that small child, afraid of the voices above and beyond.

Seto was nice. He got along with animals as if they sensed how harmless Seto was to them, and could do no ill deed. At least, Kido had never seen him do anything of that sort in the long decade they'd lived together. Seto got along like a charm with practically everyone he met, whether older, younger, or of the same age. Seto put up with Marry's… admittedly more irritating qualities, and managed to keep in touch with everyone in the Dan, like a glue that sticks

Seto was also rather brave, and a hard worker too. Taking on two part time jobs wasn't exactly an impossible feat, but for a high school student, it was something. Kido kept one naturally, to help out with the bills, but two would be killer to go along with studying. Or maybe Kido could study at the job? Still, simply delving deep into the adult world at the slim age of fifteen, Kido was surprised Seto's grades were as high as they were.

A hard worker, a sweet younger brother, and a genuinely nice person to be around? Was that what Seto was to Kido? Kido supposed that summed Seto up well enough.

Kano was another story. His 'acting' skills were certainly a pain tied to the back of Kido's mind, and whenever Kido thought he was finished, Kano had another surprise coming. Her brother was full of mysteries really. It was never possible to tell when he wasn't using his eye power either, since he could use it and make an illusion of himself with his natural eye colour. So where did that put Kano in her mind?

Kano was certainly a piece of work, with a natural and unnatural gift for deceit. Kido was never 100% sure where his mind was in most scenarios, Body language was almost unusable as a guideline, and the words coming out of his mouth were maybe even less trustworthy. The only person who could fully divine Kano's brain would be Seto, and Seto would never violate his brother's privacy on purpose. Still, for all the lies and fake smiles Kano gave in spades, he always had the rest of the Dan at heart. Morally, Kano was in the right place.

Kano may have also been a downright pain to deal with on most days, but the blonde always did all his stunts in the name of fun. Even then, Kano always seemed to understand the scenario at hand, and know what to do about it, which clashed with his idiotic persona. He did fairly well in social outings, flaunting his mask of lies openly. Kano even had a dedicated female following at school, not that it bothered her or anything, but Kido would never condone the yandere-esque glares they would send her way. Kido just didn't get what they saw in him, although she would admit that Kano was fairly lean and muscular.

A (mostly) tolerable prankster who enjoyed causing a light ruckus. Playful but mature behind his mask of deception, understanding yet showing light-heartedness. Kano was probably the hardest person to understand that Kido knew, simply because of the uncertainty she faced over how genuine Kano's actions were. Was that what Kano was to her? Kido wasn't sure, because some part of her didn't accept that definition, no matter how silly it seemed. Still, it wasn't anything to trouble one's self over, so Kido ignored it.

Finally, Kido's last foster sibling, Ayano. Ayano was an angel, a role-model, and a hero all steamrolled into a responsible older sibling. That's why the family was hit so hard when she 'committed suicide', when Ayano, the cheerful sister, the helpful school failure, the bubbly playmate, that's why the family lost so much at her death. Kido had, on several occasions, blamed Ayano, her sister, for her suicide, but even that small sin, even that was Ayano being the kindhearted person she was.

First and foremost, Kido remembered Ayano as the benevolent angel in the household. A stark contrast to Kano's teasing; Ayano would always break up any fight, and free the tension from a room. Many a time had Ayano stoppered Seto's tears, and thought up of wonderfully nostalgic games. It would bring a smile to her face just thinking about it. Kido remembered Kano, even as young as six, fantasizing about marrying his foster sister to be with her forever. Maybe that was why he always teased Seto, to get her attention.

Still, as much as Kido dreamed of Ayano, as much as she thought of her older sister as a perfection, an ideal entity, she knew that her sister wasn't one. Ayano had failed to inform them about the haze, the mind-shattering other world. Ayano had failed to keep her promise, that she'd always be there, that she'd always turn their frowns upside-down. Kido smiled grimly at that thought. Her older sister had always reminded her to smile more, to openly show happiness, rather than to hold it in.

Ayano, her older sister, the near-perfect idolized being on Kido's youth, the caretaker, the fightbreaker and pleasantry-maker, Ayano was everything and everyone Kido had once wanted to be. Maybe not the smartest girl, but Ayano was great with practically everything else. That was who Ayano was, and even after death, when the Dan (at large) discovered the reason for her suicide, even then did she never cease to amaze.

In Kido's more grim moments, she would wonder how different life would've been had they all met in a world without the haze. If only they could all have gathered in another world, a more peaceful one, a better one. Then, Ayano would've still been with them, and they would all be a happy quartet happily ever after. It was a dumb wish, a stupid one that could never come true, but still. How different would their worlds have been, how much nicer would their realities have been, if only the haze had not existed?

"Danchou, focus on your test." Kano whispered into Kido's ear, startling her out of her reverie. Kido turned to see the blonde was leisurely leaning back on his chair, stretching. Using his eye-powers to not get caught cheating was something Kido really had to hammer in, especially with Shintaro, the boy genius, sitting beside him. It was always suspicious when Kano would ace every test but mess up his equations in practice.

"I could say the same to you." Kido hissed back, the blonde laughing. Of course, no one else could see Kano's actual body position. Kido assumed he was standing next to her, but for all she knew, Kano could've been standing on his desk.

"Psst, danchou." Kano murmured.

"What?"

"You got question thirty-five wrong. You simplified the fraction incorrectly." Kano pointed out.

"Shut it."

PROMPT: What does having siblings mean to you?

Well, I tried? I just realized I've never attempted anything here from a perspective other than Kido or Shintaro, aside from that one little snippet about Hibiya. Hmm. Then again, only eight days have passed, so I guess it's fine.

On that note, god, I'm running out of ideas already. Subject prompts are great.