By the time Haruichi entered middle school, there had been many changes that Ryousuke had to get used to. First off, when Ryousuke had entered middle school Haruichi had asked to turn the empty room they had into his own bedroom, claiming that everything was getting a little cramped.

Another thing was that he no longer needed to defend his little brother against the bullies. He'd been about to go to the rescue as he normally did when his little brother asked them to stop before turning and leaving, giving them all black eyes and split lips when they'd gotten physical. Haruichi didn't have a problem with the bullies after that.

Something else was the fact that his baby brother was getting so much stronger. Hell, he could probably beat Ryousuke easily now. And he didn't know if it was the strength or his new best friend Mito, but Haruichi was opening up more. He'd even cut his bangs that had been covering his eyes so that they laid just over his eyebrows and layered down as they got further out, framing his face. He kept it fairly short in the back however.

His newfound confidence gained the youngest Kominato more friends, and made him relatively popular with his class. The fact he studied hard enough each night to be top of his class helped a little too. His popularity seemed to suddenly increase whenever a test was coming up, and this meant bigger study groups either at their house or at the library.

And when he wasn't busy studying or hanging out with friends, or going to his karate classes, Haruichi tended to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. As they'd grown older, Haruna had gone back to work as a nurse, leaving most of the cooking to Haruichi.

While Ryousuke was happy that Haruichi was finding things he enjoyed doing, and was so much more independent now, he was also upset. It was like he didn't know his little brother anymore. They didn't like much of the same things, and Haruichi was almost always busy, leaving nearly no room for them to do something together or even talk.

There were even times it felt like he was an only child.

And just when he felt that Haruichi couldn't get any busier, the youngest Kominato started middle school. He got a part time job tutoring others and babysitting. And not only had he become a class representative, he'd also joined a club.

/

"Kendo?" Ryounosuke asked as he looked over the clubs application form.

Haruichi nodded. "Riji-senpai and the others graduated from it last year and said it was really fun. They were also worried that it might get shut down if not enough first years joined since there weren't that many second years last year."

"I don't know," Haruna said, "All that equipment is pretty expensive."

"You don't have to worry about that! Riji-senpai's cousin switched from kendo to basketball and he said that it should fit me, so I could have it. It's still pretty new, so it should be fine."

"Are you sure you want to do this though? We already hardly see you as it is."

"I know, but I really want to try it. And Mito said he would join with me. Riji-senpai is going to give him his old equipment since he outgrew it, and the other senpai who outgrew their things left them behind for others in the club who couldn't afford their own new equipment."

Nodding, Ryounosuke signed the form. "Well, if you really want to try it then I guess there's no stopping you. You seem to have everything figured out anyway."

Haruna sighed and kissed the top of her baby's head. "Just try and leave some time for you family alright?"

"I will Okaa-san, don't worry."

Clearing his own plate, he helped his mother wash the dishes before going out for his nightly run. He and Mito had started running together at night and in the morning as a way to work on their stamina outside of their karate classes.

Ryousuke had run with them once, but had only felt awkward as the two talked or joked about things he wasn't into or didn't truly care about. They'd tried to be nice and include him, but he hadn't had anything to contribute, and when he did there tended to be awkward pauses before the conversation shifted to something different.

He hadn't run with them again after that.

Listening as his little brother got back and headed for a bath, Ryousuke set aside the rest of his homework and made his way to Haruichi's room. He didn't have to wait long, since his baby brother never tended to take very long baths.

"Do you need something?" Haruichi asked, seeing Ryousuke sitting on his bed. For a moment, the older Kominato didn't say anything. He simply noted the changes in his little brother. The main one being the muscles he'd put on from karate training. He wasn't bulky, and probably never would be, but the muscle was still there. "Aniki."

Ryousuke sighed, having nearly forgotten Haruichi had switched from 'Onii-chan' to 'Aniki' last year. Shaking his head, he leaned back slightly. "Nothing really. I just feel like I don't know you anymore."

Haruichi shrugged as he threw on sweats and a hoodie, taking a seat at his desk. "You have your life, and I have mine."

That stung more than Ryousuke imagined. "Still, you're my little brother. I don't like how we've grown apart so much you're almost a stranger to me."

"That's not my fault."

Winching slightly at the reminder, he curled his hand into a fist. "I know. I just don't want to wind up leaving for high school without having tried to get to know you again."

"You're not going to high school for another year. And isn't your first choice the one here in town. It's not like you don't have time."

Staring at the ground, Ryousuke briefly wondered what it would have been like had he never said those words that day. Shaking the thought from his head, he looked back up at his little brother. "Actually, I'm applying to a school in Tokyo. Seidou."

Haruichi paused and finally turned to look at his big brother. "Really? Why?"

Frowning, he leaned forward and poked the younger males' forehead. "They have a good baseball team there. And the coach at the high school here said he wanted to get some bigger guys for the team next year, which means if I go then I probably won't get to play."

Snorting slightly, Haruichi shook his head. "That's stupid. He should get players for their skills, not their build. He's missing out, passing up on you."

Ryousuke felt his heart warm at the words. He'd started to think Haruichi was mad at him for something. "Ah, so that's why I wanted to talk now, rather than later when I'll be leaving."

"Assuming you get in of course." Haruichi laughed as he rubbed the sore spot on his head. Ryousuke couldn't even find it in him to be mad as he listened to his brother laugh. Maybe they hadn't grown as far apart as he'd thought.

So...I'm thinking I'm just going to end it here. I don't know what else to write for it, and it seems like a good place to stop. I hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought!