Dark clouds roll over the turbulent gray sky above, a warning for the incoming thunderstorm the weather station reported this morning. The ends of my orange patterned rain slicker whipped around from the increased uptick in wind, the currents playfully caressing the tips of my hair, ends slightly curving from the humidity in the air. Seated on my head like usual, Aki chirped in delight when a droplet splashed on their—I don't actually know if Aki has a nose, and they have no defining features aside from their mouths, although they do seem to be developing some dips in their head, akin to a clay model really—face area. Behind me unbothered by the current light shower, Koko was licking on a lollipop with glee. It was his favourite flavour: Ramune.
Fingerpetting Aki, I observed my garden with a sharp eye.
It wasn't much at first, just a little patch of daisies I had planted from a packet of seeds Honda gifted me for my fifth birthday. All they needed were a little watering and sunlight and they would bloom beautifully—well, in normal circumstances. And before anyone can lecture me, I'd like to make it perfectly clear that I did as was instructed on the back of the packet. Watering it twice a day, making sure it lived in an optimal place with just the right amount of sun. I even measured the pH of the soil to make sure it was suitable for plant growth. Yet….
I took a glance at the area my daisies used to live, still puzzled by the results. Those flowers could no longer be identified as regular daisies.
Towering over me at a whopping four feet, the white flowers were no longer 'dainty' or 'cute'. The previously white petals had turned into the colour of ash, with bits of raven black sprinkled in. Azure blue took over the yellow bud, bearing a striking resemblance to the coloured hair Thing One and Thing Two had to a concerning degree. Each petal grew to the length of an adult's forearm with the span of a Guinness World Records book on its side and had pointed edges that would give you a strange blue rash before disappearing in three hours that left you feeling as high as a cloud. The less said about the black-coloured stem—or should I say trunk—of the plant, the better. Just know that you'd need a specially sharpened axe to cut it down. And I am speaking from experience.
It was strange, it was disturbing, and I adored it. So of course, I decided to buy more and expand my repertoire, expanding my pet project into a garden that could belong to the setting of the Addams family. My family thought it was a little weird, but they eventually found it amusing how every time a perfectly normal plant would come into the house, it'd end up in the backyard due to it growing twisted and with more appendages than it initially was supposed to have. There was a patch of toxic green marigolds that had their head floating above the pink stem. A potted jasmine plant Kimura gave me grew white thorns that killed and ate any mosquitoes unfortunate enough to come close to its sticky petals. I had blue tomatoes with white polka dots that tasted like cotton candy for fucks sake.
The slight shower bouncing off the polka-dotted leaves of the patch of flowers in front of me soon grew into plump drops dripping off the myriad of patterned petals and drenching the soil below. With an endearing purr, Aki extended their arms and pulled the hood of my slicker up to cover my head, tugging it until the rim of the hood drooped over my glasses and touched the tip of my nose. Unbothered by the rain, I cradled the head of a lily in my palm, thumbing the pitch-black petals dotted with stars that seem to shine with light.
The rain cut off abruptly, but the sound of trickling petals and running water around me continued.
"Oi, Baba, you done yet?" His gruff voice broke the peace of the quiet garden, not overbearing as a waterfall, but more stable as a river. The comparison probably wouldn't make sense if you didn't know him, but the boy made it a habit to seem unassuming till the occasion called for him to make his presence known. "Yuu wants you to know dinner's ready."
Zen'in Toji.
Standing at 183 centimetres, and able to lift the weight of what was equivalent to an elephant, the boy held an umbrella—my favourite clear orange patterned umbrella that could fit at least four people underneath—over us as he peered down at me, side-eyeing my beloved garden with a wary look. He noticed the lily I was cupping, looked to the other side of the garden, and narrowed his eyes. "Weren't these on the other side yesterday?"
"Yes."
"Did you move them?"
"No." I got up from my crouch and straightened out my legs, feeling the pins and needles for a brief moment before powering through the stinging sensation to the house. I've walked through worse pains, so this is barely a struggle. Koko, picking up on the subtle call to come home, floated over and sat on my head with a knowing giggle.
Toji squinted down at me. "Then who did?"
I innocently looked up through my lashes. "No one did."
"Then—" Turning around to look at the lilies, the green-eyed boy paused and slowly blinked.
The lilies were back in their place on the other side of the garden where they belonged. A faint trail of dirt One of the leaves looked like it was waving at us cheerfully. One look at his blank face told me all I needed to know. Walking closer, I simply held his free hand and pulled him along with me. I hummed and thumbed the scars that heavily marred his hands.
"I'm not paid enough to deal with this." The Toji of two months ago would have tried to subdue me and wrangle out any answers about the strange goings around me; now, he just blinks and accepts the fact that things are just the way they are whenever I'm around.
At first, when he came around with Yuu-nee, it was obvious he still had his guard up around me. Just like Toto. My sister kept telling him that I was fine with his presence and that I wouldn't hurt him again like the first time, but it was clear he didn't believe her. It was two weeks into their 'official' relationship when he had sat in the backyard with us, his body emulating the spirit of a bear what with how bad his posture was. I was in the garden tending to my plants. Yuu had left us alone under the guise of going to get a plate of snacks despite there being a perfectly full basket of rice crackers set out in front of us
The moment she left I could feel him watching me. I didn't need to see him because I could tell he wasn't actually looking at me, but it was clear he was fully aware of where and what I was doing. I had had enough. It was hot and my sun hat wasn't doing any favours to keep me cool in the humid weather. Aki was a melting pile on my hat and Koko was off in the corner playing with some snails he found on my tomatoes. I needed soil for my newly arrived strawberry seeds, and the bag was at least three times my weight. Some muscle was needed.
The choice was obvious.
When my sister came back with a box of ice cream bars, she tripped over the sight of her boyfriend being ordered around like a henchman by her baby brother. Toji hemmed and hawed, complaining about slave labour; he was quick to shut up when I told him I'd be making fried offal tonight. Despite being tense around me, it was clear Toji preferred my cooking over Yuu-nee's—understandable really.
And thus, Toji was to be my garden helper. He may not look like it, but the boy had a knack for taking care of them. Shocking. I know. Behind that cool and rough exterior was a green thumb. Granted, he couldn't stop my cute plants from growing the way they did, but he sure as hell could make them happy by taking care of their basic needs to a T.
"What's for dinner?"
"Something something pasta." Toji eyed my hand for a solid moment before hesitantly curling his fingers over mine. It was so light I could barely even feel the pressure, as if he were treating my hand like a fragile tea cup.
My lips twitched at the thought of him holding a plastic pink Minnie Mouse teacup during one of Honda's many tea parties she hosted when we played house together with Kimura.
"Tou-chan was feeling adventurous?"
A shrug. "Guess so. Your nerd is here too."
"His name is Kageyama Atsuo, Toto."
"Doesn't change anything."
I rolled my eyes. Boys.
Past the kitchen window, I could see my strange family enjoying themselves. Yuu-nee and Kana were setting up the table. Tou-chan was at the stove stirring the pot, while Minami and Atsu were chopping up some vegetables. Making goo-goo eyes at each other all the while.
"Hey, Toji."
He grunted.
"Do you like it here?"
". . . I don't hate it."
I gave an inflectionless hum.
Vetting him was a bit complicated. With no academic or hospital records, it was a bit tough to find his background, but I did a little further digging and found that he had ties to an old family. More like a clan though, judging by all the hush-hush surrounding them and the obvious wealth they had at their disposal. Their presence bore no good news, but if Toji willingly did not want to be associated with them out of disdain he was okay with me.
Introducing him to our large family was another matter entirely. Tou-chan was his bubbly self as usual when I shoved the giant into our living room to talk. The boy had visited our house not knowing Yuu-nee was on a quick shopping trip to the supermarket; so, seeing the great opportunity it was, I dragged him inside to meet our father.
"Tou-chan, Toto. Toto, Tou-chan."
"Chi-Chi, who is this?"
"Yuu-nee's boyfriend."
"Oh, Konbini Boy right?"
What happened next was a staring contest of my father's finest RBF that lasted for a total of 30 seconds before Tou-chan got up and hugged the expressionless boy, shocking Toji with a grunt. The emotionally stunted boy didn't know what to do with his hands and just hung them by his sides while glaring daggers at me while simultaneously begging me with his eyes to get my father off him.
"Oh, it's so good to finally meet you! I've been wondering who's been texting my little girl whenever she smiles at her phone with such a lovestruck look! Hey, Toji—" With a smile, Tou-chan whispers in Toji's ear. Whatever words he said made the boy tense and lock up on the spot with a weary look in his eye. Pulling back, he gripped Toji's shoulders and laughed, pulling him down to sit at the table. "Come come! Let's talk about how you met my Little Yuu! Judo-flipped right? That brings back memories of how I met her mother!"
Introducing him to the others went pretty much the same way in a sense. It was obvious he wasn't really interested in meeting them, but was trying for my sister's sake. A swift fastball thrown by Hinata at his head changed his mind.
Our whole family was a group full of athletes. Tou-chan did Kendo and basketball during his school years and picked up boxing as well. Yuu-nee focused on martial arts and dabbled in track. Hinata did baseball, boxing, and football. Kana herself did archery and swimming, as well as competitive ballroom dancing. Atsuo, after much encouragement from Minami, went back to playing volleyball after having to quit during his junior high years due to the strain in his schedule from taking on part-time jobs at the time.
Seeing him barely catch that fastball with his bare hands and toss it back to Hinata without any agitation must've pegged him as an okay guy in her books because she immediately dragged him into a game with a smirk.
Kana just smiled warmly and held on tightly to my hand when he walked past us to join Hinata. Noticing her minuscule wary but nonetheless warm welcome, Toji nodded at her and gave her a wide berth for her comfort.
Atsuo of course noticed and nodded at Toji with approval, smiling at him when he joined the game.
"Neko-chan one of yours?"
Glancing at our little eavesdropper hidden by the large shed on the right, he rolled his eyes.
"Don't know him."
What a bold-faced lie. The boy, although soft and feline-looking, could pass off as Toji's younger brother. His wide eyes peered in from behind the shed curiously, gaze pointedly trained on the boy beside me. Expensive-looking clothes adorned his lithe body, stainless hakama and starched collar of his button-down layered under a dark-blue yukata tucked into his pants. All of which was beginning to get soaked through by the heavy rain.
"He's joining us inside."
"What? Why?" Toji whined.
"It's raining and it doesn't seem like Neko-chan isn't interested in moving any time soon. He'll catch pneumonia." Koko hummed in agreement, although there wouldn't be any universe out there where he wouldn't side with me so it wouldn't count for much. Aki is just patting my head in support.
"Good then, maybe that'll teach him to sneak out and stalk people." Toji retorted pettily.
"How old is he?"
Toji shrugged without a care and scratched his ear. "Dunno, maybe 10 or 11."
"Toji." I stopped walking and forcibly made him stop with me.
"You are going over there, and you are going to invite him in for dinner." The glare on my glasses shone eerily as the streetlights flicker on, casting a dim light that glowed atop of us from behind me, shadowing my face. "You are not leaving a child out in the rain, cold, wet, and hungry."
"But—"
"No buts." I cut off. "I'll take care of things. You know I will."
Toji stared at me with a face that told me everything, and yet nothing. His hand unconsciously squeezed mine; I squeezed back reassuringly, surprising him out of whatever flashback he was having. "Come, I'll do it with you. Just hold the umbrella, I'll do the talking."
The boy looked down at our joined hands for a while and looked back at my face, a searching look in his eyes as he scoured my expression for any hidden insincerity. Finding none, he begrudgingly nodded and closed his eyes.
"Oi, Naoya. We know you're here. Stop tryin' to hide.
The crashing of my gardening tools signalled the eavesdropper's surprise at his cover being blown.
"Could you be a dear and put those back up again?" I called out.
There was a hesitant shuffle of feet before we could hear the clang of tools being shifted back to where they belonged.
"Thank you."
Naoya's head poked out from the shed door and blinked nervously at us. "Are you going to tell Haha-ue?
Toji gave me a look and sarcastically motioned for me to take the floor.
"No," I shook my head and gestured for Naoya to come closer and join us under the umbrella. "But I may have to if you catch a chill. Come here, there's room under my umbrella."
"The maids tell me not to talk to strangers," Naoya muttered, eyeing me with suspicion. "And you look strange."
"Well, I was just born this way. Nothing strange about that." I shrugged. "I've got two arms and legs, don't I? My hair is on my head just like yours, I've got teeth for chewing, I have eyes for seeing, I've got a nose for smelling when Toto here is a bit too ripe and needs a good showering. Because spray on deodorant is not an actual shower." At that comment, Toji narrowed his eyes and lazily flicked my forehead. Something I easily dodged without a second thought. "I can hear and speak to you just fine. The dark colour of my skin means I just have a lot more melanin to protect me from turning into a lobster during the summer.
The drenched boy squinted at me once more before slowly nodding, creeping his way toward us and under the umbrella.
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" I took Naoya's hand in mine and pulled the two cousins along. "Now let's get inside. You're positively freezing and soaked to the bones. I have some clothes you can borrow while we wait for yours to dry up. Have you eaten yet?"
Looking down at me, Naoya opened his mouth and blinked with confusion. He turned to look at his cousin for help at the sudden onslaught of concern coming from the strange boy, but only received an uncaring blink. "Um, no?"
"That's not good. Growing children need to eat." I gave a pointed look at Toji who was no doubt going to sneak away after dropping me off inside. "I'm sure we'll have more than enough food to spare for the two of you, so why don't you stay and eat?" Toji scrunched his nose at my no-nonsense tone.
"I'm good—"
"You're staying for dinner and that's final."
"Yes, Baba."
That word again. I sniffed. "What is with you guys and calling me Baba? First Kimura, then Honda, then my sister, and then you. I'm only six. Hardly an age for growing grey hairs."
"Can't help it when you act like a meddling grandma all the damn time." He winced when I pinched the front of his hand. "Ow. What was that for?"
"Watch your profanity; there are children present."
Toji snorted with disbelief. "I'm sure he's heard worse. He's a Zen'in."
"It's the principle of the thing."
The subject of the conversation kept silent but was drinking in the sight of the two males arguing like family. The strange little dark-skinned boy called Baba acted far older than he looked, and didn't tremble in the presence of his clan's black sheep like the many weak children have before. Toji was an outcast, 'fated to become a useless face in the crowd' his maids would whisper in his ears. As powerful as he may seem, it wouldn't amount to anything if there wasn't a drop of cursed energy in him. At least, that's what Naoya thought before seeing him. Just standing near Toji made him want to run away; those toxic green eyes that would follow his movement with a lazy graze befitting that of a lying panther made him shiver in fear of making the wrong move.
Despite his fear of Toji nearly immobilizing him, he wanted to stay. Never has he seen someone act like this before. The compound was always stifling with ass-kissers and simpering fools who cling onto the tail ends of those in positions higher than them. Here, there was no divide between classes. You'd think the younger boy would be cowering before Toji, but here he stood, blank-faced and unbothered, hand in hand, and bantering with the Zen'in clan's killing machine. In fact, Naoya had a small inkling that the one who held the power in this peculiar dynamic was the small boy himself. It was unthinkable but true.
Naoya, baffled to silence, looked down at where the boy held his hand and slowly tightened his grip. Maybe. . .maybe he could learn from him. Learn how to command attention so effortlessly as he did. Learn how to speak so eloquently and without hesitation. Learn how to be assured of his own worth.
Learn how to be powerful.
Nobody batted an eye at the announcement of an addition of another at the table, simply adding another plate and utensils to the table. Yuu-nee grinned warmly at Naoya when we piled inside and ushered him to the bathroom to change out of his dripping-wet clothes. (Yuu-nee shyly kisses Toji on the cheek, raising a rosy flush on the tips of his ears.) I tended to wear oversized clothing for comfort at home, so there weren't any problems in that regard. Koko helped pick out a shirt that seemed to be about Naoya's size and Aki pulled over a pair of shorts that would be comfortable for a boy his size. I took out a pack of newly bought briefs and placed one on the pile of clothes to complete the set.
Satisfied with the pile, I walked downstairs with Aki laying on the pile and Koko floating behind me as usual. When I reached the bathroom, I knocked on the door politely. "Naoya-kun, I've brought you some clothes. Can you open the door a bit?"
The door creaked open a bit and his head popped out.
"Here you go." I passed the clothes over to him. "Do you want me to wait, or can you come to the table yourself?"
Naoya bit his lip in thought and shuffled his feet shyly. I nodded in understanding. "It's alright, I'll be right here. So go on and get changed."
A bit embarrassed, he blushed and quickly shut the door. The sound of shuffling cloth was the only noise behind the wood.
"Are you sure about him?" Koko asked, fingers twirling around my hair. The warmth of his breath tickled my ears as he leaned further down my head.
Aki purred in the palm of my hand, vibrating in contentment at the feeling of my fingers running down their back. "Yes, I'm quite sure, Koko."
"You know what this will bring, and yet you stand before it with open arms." The white-haired man paused, letting a dramatic silence stretch like the drama queen he is. "Why is that?"
Koko's words were sound. What was I doing, welcoming a boy who will grow up to be a misogynistic elitist, destined to bring pain and suffering to anyone that doesn't go his way? Being kind to someone who will be killed and will turn into a cursed spirit, forsaking his humanity for power?
I reached up and cradled Koko's face, gently brushing the skin under his eyes and bringing him closer to me, to which he followed willingly and without question. Our noses kissed and our foreheads pressed intimately against each other and our breaths synced up as one. For a second, the only thing I knew at that second was that it would always be me and him. It was the truth, and will always be the unbreakable truth I will know for all my life and the many lives after—fate be willing.
As I opened my eyelids and peered into the deep cerulean depths swirling before me, I smiled. It was not nice, nor was it malicious. It simply was.
"Because I can."
