A LITTLE SHORT STORY~

Written by: Clary and Lia~

Dedicated to: All our awesome readers, thanks so much for sticking with us and not getting tired of our late updates~

THEY DESERVED IT(Tezuka at eight, Syusuke at seven)

It's been a week.

Somehow, during the course of the said week, Tezuka managed to pick up the pieces of who he used to be and put it back together again. He didn't know why or how but he knew that his parents and his grandfather (his heart twisted in pain) would not appreciate it if he got careless and lost sight of his responsibilities to his brother (to his only family now) just because they're... just because they're...

Just because they were gone now.

He'd allowed himself the luxury of tears only once (and he was actually quite proud of this accomplishment) but it was enough, he had to be strong and he wasn't going to be strong sitting in a corner, crying his little heart out and moaning to the world about the unfairness of it all, feeling sorry for himself.

His family taught him better. He wasn't going to be a pathetic little kid, not when there was someone else who needed him, who looked up to him, who depended on him. Not when Syusuke alternated between throwing up and crying every night in the infirmary, not when Syusuke still smiled for him whenever he showed up, his happiness so obviously faked, it killed Tezuka to see it.

But Syusuke didn't stop, and it only strengthened Tezuka's resolve to be stronger.

They had each other, it was what mattered, nothing else did, not anymore, and he wasn't going to lose the only person he'd ever love because he hadn't been strong enough.

There wasn't going to be repeat of his family's death. Not if he had anything to say about it.

Still, sometimes, Tezuka woke up in the middle of the night, scared and afraid that the next day, Syusuke wouldn't be waiting for him from his bed in the infirmary with his usual weak (fake) smile. Or that the next day, Persona would find out about who Syusuke was, about what he could do, and Syusuke would be forced to Death again and again and again, until he won't come back anymore.

Death was a part of life but for Syusuke, sweet and bright and beautiful, Tezuka wouldn't take it. Syusuke would not die, Tezuka would make sure of it.

His fist tightened on the plastic bag he was holding.

He was visiting Syusuke again. This was the third time today (and no, he wasn't paranoid, no matter what Atobe said about it, he just wanted to see if Syusuke had somehow gotten better, even if only by a little). He always brought Syusuke little gifts. For now, it was a cactus that would sport nice pink flowers, if the saleslady had been telling the truth. Syusuke liked cactuses, no matter what color their flowers were, though even Tezuka had to admit to himself that pink was kind of... showy.

Still, he knew Syusuke would love it.

His brows furrowed as he turned the corner to the infirmary, noting the noise that was so uncharacteristic of the place.

He stopped short when he noticed some boys from his class, laughing loudly, leaning against the wall as if they hadn't a care in the world.

"You should keep silent," Tezuka told them in a reprimanding manner, his tone sharper than usual (probably because they had the audacity to be noisy near the infirmary, did they not have any ounce of respect at all?).

The boys turned to him and elbowed one another before laughing aloud again.

"It's Tezuka," one of them sneered.

"You should mind your own business, Tezuka," another said, blantantly trying to mock him.

Tezuka watched them passively. He'd stopped being afraid of many things the day he discovered his alice and rowdy bullies were one of them. They were that group in class, the group whose members weren't Dangerous Types, but fancied themselves as one. The group that was insanely jealous of Tezuka and Atobe and Yukimura. The group that would, given the opportunity, antagonize them just for being labelled as a Dangerous Type.

They didn't scare Tezuka one bit.

Still, he was angry, he couldn't deny it, and his blood simmered slightly. A voice at the back of Tezuka's head that he ignored most of the time whispered to him, telling him to use his alice and be done with these pathetic bunch, telling him to punish them for disturbing Syusuke's peace.

But his family had often stressed on patience, no violence, just control.

"Kunimitsu, you must always remember that strength comes with a responsibility."

His late grandfather's words.

Grandfather had always been wise, and he'd been everything that a mentor was to both Tezuka and his brother.

Tezuka hadn't disappointed him yet, and he won't start now.

"Ne, Tezuka!"

Tezuka pulled himself out of his thoughts and focused on the boys again.

"You're always coming to the infirmary these days, aren't you?" One asked, sending him a haughty smirk. "What's the matter, little Tezuka? Is it because you can't go running back to your mommy anymore?"

Tezuka's spine stiffened. They did not just...

"Or is it different?" Another boy. Just how many were they, waiting to ambush him in front of the infirmary? "Is your little baby brother in there?" He jerked his thumb to the closed infirmary door, giving Tezuka a suggestive wink.

"Oh, you mean the blue-eyed kid who hangs out with him and Atobe and Yukimura? Is that him, Aoi?"

"Yeah, that's the one," Aoi answered easily, smiling at Tezuka yet again. "Pretty thing, isn't he?"

Tezuka's control snapped. "Don't touch him," he growled, and he was about to punctuate his words with a spike of pain when his grandfather's face came into his consciousness again.

"I know you'll be a responsible kid, Kunimitsu, and I am glad for it."

He stopped himself.

"Or what?" Aoi sneered. "Whatcha gonna do, Tezuka? Are you finally going to show us what made Persona want you? Are you going to show us your alice? Do you even have one?"

They laughed with him. It was easy to see that they took joy in mocking him this way, and Tezuka let them. As long as they forgot about Syusuke, he could keep his control.

He moved closer, subtly trying to get in front of the infirmary door.

"I heard you cried last week," Aoi continued, eyes still full of mirth. "Who knew that the Tezuka Kunimitsu would be a crybaby?"

His posse laughed louder than anything this time, but Tezuka didn't mind. They could say whatever they want. It wouldn't matter. Not to him.

"It's such a shame, isn't it? Personally, I think you're just a –"

But Tezuka would never find out what he was to Tanaka Aoi, because at that very moment, the infirmary door slid open, banging loudly against its frame.

And out came Syusuke, still too thin for Tezuka's liking, still in his hospital gown, still paler than what would have been normal.

But his eyes... his eyes that had dulled in the past week were now glinting coldly, filled with a determination and a fire that Tezuka had never seen in him before.

He never even looked at Tezuka. He strode quickly towards those boys from Tezuka's class, walking with an almost deadly grace, looking dauntless and daunting, despite how small he was in comparison to them.

Aoi stiffened slightly, though his lips were still stretched out in a grin. "Hello, little one," he greeted. "Would you like to-"

Syusuke, before Aoi could even finish, drew back his fist and punched, square on Aoi's jaw. Aoi fell in a surprised heap on the floor.

He growled. "You little brat," he hissed, getting up again.

Tezuka, sensing the danger, instinctively walked up to his brother, and clutched his wrist. "Syusuke," he said softly, warning in his voice.

Syusuke didn't listen.

Tezuka tugged. Syusuke didn't budge.

"You want to fight, huh? Is that it?"

"Try me," Syusuke replied, voice quivering with anger, cold and malicious. "And you'll see just why I became a Dangerous Type." His hand shot out and gripped Aoi's wrist mercilessly and because Tezuka had been holding his hand, he was able to see just what Syusuke was doing to them.

He was showing them Death.

Their eyes widened, before they turned and abruptly ran away, Tezuka staring after them.

He heard a shuffle near him and he turned his head back to his brother, whose eyes were once again simply lit up by a feverish light and was swaying on his feet. Syusuke blinked up at him once and unceremoniously fell against his body.

Tezuka's heart skipped many beats. He could feel his face flushing. He brought his free arm around Syusuke's waist, holding him up gently. "Syusuke, you shouldn't have-"

"Nii-san?" Syusuke looked up, a different glint in his eyes this time. He gave a gentle smile filled with his typical little-boy hopefulness as he gestured to the bag that held the cactus. "Is that for me?"

./.

"- very, very irresponsible of you."

Tezuka looked at Syusuke, stopping mid-lecture to make sure his brother was listening to everything he'd been saying.

Syusuke, lying amid his fluffy white pillows, looked contrite.

Tezuka calmed down some and lightened his tone a little. "Do you want to tell me what you were thinking?"

Syusuke looked down on his hands, closing and opening them slowly. His face softened at something Tezuka didn't know about and Tezuka wanted, more than anything, to clutch those hands and tell his brother not to shut him out, that he was here, and Syusuke could tell him anything. He didn't, of course, and it was completely irrational for him to think so.

"I didn't think," Syusuke replied evenly. "I punched him because he deserved it."

Tezuka let out a small sigh. "Syusuke, you know what Grandfather-" Syusuke winced "-would have said about it. Resorting to that kind of physical violence-"

"-should have been avoided, I know, but nii-san?" Syusuke's eyes searched his, pleading to be understood. "I was angry. I.. I.. It didn't matter to me, when they were laughing and noisy outside but when they started talking to you like that, and you didn't do anything-!"

Tezuka took Syusuke's trembling hands into his and squeezed gently. "Something like that should not be responded to with violence. It would only make it worse."

Syusuke's eyes scrunched up and he pressed close, burying his head in Tezuka's shirt. "I'm sorry," he said softly, sounding sincere. "I'm sorry, nii-san."

Tezuka patted his brother's head. "I'm not gonna lie, I'm glad you did it," he said frankly, pausing to hear his brother's tinkling laugh – the first in many days. "But you still shouldn't have done it. They didn't deserve it."

"I think they do."

"Syusuke-"

Syusuke pulled away and smiled, blue eyes sparkling. "That's because not a lot of people a like nii-san, ne? Not a lot of people are good and fair and just."

"Syusuke, it's not a bad thing to be fair and just. You talk about it like it's a bad thing."

Syusuke shook his head childishly. "No, I don't." Syusuke squeezed their still entwined hands. "It's not a bad thing, but not a lot of people are fair and just."

Syusuke drew closer and Tezuka had to breath deeply twice to calm his heart, which was trying to hammer its way out of his chest.

"Nii-san is, though."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are," Syusuke insisted stubbornly. "And I love you for it."

And to Tezuka's horror (and delight), Syusuke drew himself up and kissed him on the cheek, a chaste kiss that lasted a second but stopped Tezuka's world completely.

Syusuke giggled and beamed brightly, so unlike the Syusuke he had become during the past week. The (very, very small) part of Tezuka that wasn't still reeling from the light kiss felt relieved that his brother was smiling now.

He missed that smile.

Syusuke's smile widened as he settle back on his pillows, closing his eyes. "I love nii-san," he mumbled softly, already drifting towards unconsciousness.

Tezuka's heart pounded against his ribs so furiously, it was a miracle no one was noticing. It was so very easy to make what he could out of that innocent statement. So, so very easy. So very easy to pretend that... that Syusuke felt for him the way he felt for Syusuke.

But he stopped. Because he wasn't going to twist his brother's words that way.

He wasn't.

So he did the only thing that was right for him to do. He squeezed Syusuke's hand and gave him a small smile, replying (in a very even voice that betrayed nothing of his inner turmoil), "I love you, too."

You just didn't know how much.

Clary: Lia's been bugging me to write something like this for days...

Lia: It's not like YOU didn't want to.

Clary: I wanted to but you didn't have to bug me for it~ (She was very mean~~ Waaah~~)

Lia: Oh, please. Your readers deserve this, after putting up with your late updates half of the time. You OWE them this.

Clary: FINE. (turns to readers) I hope you guys enjoyed this~ Lia wrote it with me~ Yey~ (Seriously. You could see bits of her writing style during the serious parts. They're so totally LIA).

Lia: It's not like I don't know how to write. (There is a REASON why I'm your editor) Besides, this way, I could monitor what you're actually writing.

Clary: Yeah~~ I don't want you to become my full-time editor, Lia~~~ (No offense) She erased ALL of the profanities I attempted to put~~~ It sounds so CLEAN now~~~~ Waaah~~

Lia: It's a nice change.

Clary: Waaaaahhhh~~~ Lia is picking on me~~~~~

Lia: I hope you guys enjoyed this little peace offering. I promise to get Issa to writing soon so we can update.

Clary: (: Yey~