An Open Book
Summary: Just when he thought everything in life was almost blissfully perfect, a short trip to the supermarket forces him to think twice.
Disclaimer: I don't own Library Wars/Toshokan Sensou. It belongs to its rightful owner.
Note: To avoid any confusions, I'm going to refer to Tezuka Satoshi using his first name, and 'Tezuka' will just refer to Tezuka Hikaru.
Chapter 2: A Bitter Aftertaste
Tezuka Satoshi seemed to be the only one who didn't seem thrown off guard. He kept a poker-face as he stood between Doujou and the girl, observing the situation nonchalantly. The girl was wearing a knee-length casual dress with slightly frilly layers and short stylish boots, and her arm was linked around Satoshi's, which he noticed in particular. The last time he had seen Satoshi, Satoshi was dressed in a business suit, but this time he was wearing casual clothing that didn't really suit his image. Nevertheless, in the eyes of strangers, Satoshi and the girl looked just like a couple in a middle of a date.
And the image of seeing his younger sister together with his nemesis (his dislike had already reached the next level) was more than enough to ruin his day off. At the sight of Doujou, the girl quickly pulled away from Satoshi, nervously bringing her arm back to her side.
"O-Onii-chan…"
The shock was quickly replaced by anger and irritation. Doujou gave Satoshi a quick glare out of the corner of his eye, still noting the much-too-close distance between the other man and his sister. "Akane," he spoke with a bitter edge to his voice, "What are you going here? With him?" He jerked his chin towards Satoshi.
"Um…He's an alumni of my university, so he's kind of like a sempai…"
"Just a sempai?"
"Y-Yeah." Even ignoring the stutter, it was impossible to miss the way she glanced away for a split second; her body language was practically screaming out the fact that it was a lie.
For whatever reason he couldn't understand, the situation really bothered him. Although his sister was legally an adult, he still felt the need to watch over her carefully. Some would call it 'being an overprotective brother', but at this split second, Doujou was willing to be deemed overprotective if it meant getting Akane away from Satoshi's side-now. As he reached for his sister's arm, a cough from Satoshi made him look up.
"If I must explain myself, Officer Doujou, it is a common misconception that a young man and young lady together in public must be on a rendezvous." Satoshi choose this moment to pause briefly, running a hand through his hair as he studied Doujou's ambiguous yet slightly cynical expression. A tiny smirk of satisfaction was carefully hidden behind his hand as he pretended to rub the bridge of his nose. "But I have to say, those assumptions are incorrect in this case, as unfortunate as it may be."
Neither of the men noticed Akane's gaze dropping slightly when Satoshi denied the fact that that they were on a date, nor did they notice they way she brightened up a little at the word 'unfortunate'. The only thing occupying Doujou's mind at the moment was the idea of leaving, so he grabbed his hesitant younger sister and turned to leave. Doujou didn't like the way Satoshi gave Akane one last glance before Doujou forcefully dragged her away, and he especially didn't like the fact that she returned his gaze with a feeling of helplessness. The increasing distance between them and Satoshi did nothing to calm him down. In fact, his thoughts only served to aggravate him even further.
It wasn't the fact that his younger sister seemed to have an interest in his subordinate's older brother; it was the fact that she was interested in Tezuka Satoshi - the man who will stop at nothing to reach his goals, the man who has a secret agenda in every action he takes, the fiend who unhesitatingly ruined Kasahara's work and social life for the sake of his younger brother! This is ridiculous, he sickened at the notion of Satoshi getting closer to Akane.
"We're going back to the dorm to get something, then I'm bringing you home." The coldness in his voice made it clear that there was no room for arguments. A million thoughts ran through Doujou's mind, and each thought only increased the uneasiness in his stomach. Until they made it through the entrance of the Library Force dorms, the atmosphere remained just as tense as it had been when they were with Satoshi. The lounge was completely empty, but the silence inside the dorm didn't change the awkward mood between the siblings.
"Wait here." Doujou spoke to her with a tone fit for a commander, and Akane could only sit down on the sofa like an obedient child. As soon as he left, she pulled up the sleeve of her left hand, revealing the skin to be slightly red where Doujou was gripping it. She winced inwardly, not from the pain, but from the bitter aftertaste of the conversation between her older brother and Satoshi.
"Not here either..."
The quiet murmur broke the silence. Akane quickly pulled her sleeve back down to cover her wrist, and looked up to see a tall, short-haired girl attempting to peek between the gap of the vending machine and the wall. She continued to mutter to herself, and was completely unaware of the presence of the other person in the room. Whatever she was looking for didn't seem to be there, so she moved on to the cupboard beside it. With a yank she attempted to pull it open, but the handle came flying off and out of her hands.
"Wah!" Akane let out a yell as the handle flew right past her head, coming very close to hitting her. The tall, tomboyish girl turned around in surprise and finally noticed her there.
"Oh, are you alright?! That was an accident, I'm so sorry!" She kept looking between the handle on the floor and Akane, her short brown hair flying wildly around her head. This incident gave Akane a slight feeling of irritation, but it was obvious that it was unintentional. The reaction of the girl made it impossible for her to stay angry at her anyways. Akane nodded her head to show she was alright.
"Oh, good." The girl breathed a huge sigh of relief, as if a huge weight had been lifted off her chest. She brightened up, and stared at Akane, who was at least a head shorter than her. "Did you happen to see a folded piece of paper lying around here? It's really important, and I kinda lost it." The irresponsibility of losing something really important was what caught Akane's attention. That was the kind of thing that wouldn't happen in her family, as accountable as they all were. The disappointment of the girl was obvious when she shook her head. Still, she thanked her before leaving, no doubt continuing her search for the important piece of document she lost.
"Akane." Doujou returned a few minutes after with a duffle bag slung around his shoulders. "We're leaving." It couldn't be more noticeable that he was still angry at her, with the way he's avoiding eye contact and glaring at everything else in sight. With a slight drag in her steps, Akane meekly followed behind him.
Author's Notes: Onii-chan means 'big brother', and Sempai means 'upperclassman'. Thank you for the reviews, and please let me know what you think about this chapter!