S2 Chapter 6

Brothers

The car inaudibly zoomed through the neighborhood. Mother nature was lovingly doing her wonders as the first rays of sunlight appeared. The darkness slowly disappeared and a soft light embraced this world tenderly. The clouds broke apart and gathered into tiny pieces that looked like a herd of sheep in the sky. Yui marveled at the change from her seat inside the car. She felt an innocent sense of excitement arise within her along with the sunrise.

Yui was genuinely happy to visit Disneyland. More so, she was happy to go there with Sae, Rin and everyone else. It really felt like a fun trip with the squad. Yui smiled jolly, and tightened her grip on the bag that rested on her lap.

Yui's blissful joy was a stark contrast to the mood that radiated from the two teens beside her. Rin was frowning to himself and glaring at the window. He stubbornly refused to even glance at Sae, his brother, who sat on the other side. Sae's expression was hard to read as always. He simply looked at the window with his legs crossed elegantly. Stuck between the two, Yui glanced at them with silent worry.

This Cold War had been going on since they entered the car. At first, Yui didn't think much of it.
Yet, the silent drive continued and when Yui felt the air dropped down to a freezing point, she decided to do something.

Her gaze went from one Itoshi to the next Itoshi.

'Even in this situation they still keep their elegance and beauty.' Yui absentmindedly noticed the upright and beautiful posture Rin and Sae kept. While Sae sat elegantly with an upright torso and crossed legs, Rin was a bit more casual. One of his hands lay crossed over his lap and the other one supported his chin. He too kept his back straight and it gave him a cold, cool beauty kind of charm.

This resemblance evoke a smile from her. The siblings truly were more alike than they would like to admit, Yui concluded with optimism.

She wanted to believe in them, and the bond that they had. As someone who was friends with both of them, she felt confident that they would get better somehow. This trip might be just a small step closer to that.

Yui quietly nodded to herself with renewed motivation. Sae had watched her from the corner of his eyes and thus he noticed all the changes in the expression Yui had been doing. She switched from happy, to concerned to thoughtful and then back to happy so quickly, he was amused and perplexed at the same time.

Sae blinked once when he saw the current expression on her face. He somehow had the uncanny feeling that Yui was plotting something and he was not quite sure how to feel about that.

'Whatever.' Sae thought and he chose
to ignore this matter. Whatever it was that Yui did, he knew that she was a responsible and fine woman. One that wouldn't trouble him.

It hasn't been long since they set off, but Yui still felt the tension in her bones. She looked up in thoughts and happened to meet with Maureen's chocolate brown ones while doing so. He gave her a small smile and Yui smiled back with a sense of ease.

Maureen seemed to be encouraging her, and she deeply appreciated the driver's kindness. With one last reassuring nod to herself, Yui randomly opened up a topic.

«Sae, Rin. Have you been to Disneyland before?» Yui's light and mellow voice cut through the heavy, dry air. Both guys jerked slightly as if they've been hit by electricity. Yui watched them curiously. People often told her that her voice was more on the quiet and slow side, unlike the majority of her friends, who were more blunt, resolute and driven.

Their sudden reaction made her worry, but also curious. Was she really this loud or were they this deep in thoughts that they forgot about her?

Out of curiosity Yui glanced between Rin and Sae. She tried to observe and wordlessly hint her question to them.

Sae and Rin were no strangers to Yui and her eccentric behavior. Rin knew because he hung around her for long enough and Sae too understood because... well, whenever he looked into these crystal-clear blue eyes of hers, he just... felt what she wanted. Her eyes were like mirrors that reflected her soul - and her soul was the clearest, purest and most refined one Sae had ever seen.

Her eyes were dazzling.

Sae never gave it much thought before, but he suddenly realized. The way he behaved and felt around Yui was different to what he feels around everyone else. Thoughts and sights he had never seen before, experiences and feelings he never had - they all happened with her. Sae unexpectedly cared and paid attention to her - just a little bit more than towards anyone else.
It was a small, but grand difference. Sae had caught glimpse of a world that he hadn't seen before. And now that he know it was there, he couldn't pretend that it doesn't exist.
His world was becoming one he could not recognize anymore. The same streets, the same city, the same season just like any other...

'But everything's changing.'

Because Sae changed.

«Have you been to Disneyland before?»

Yui's innocent question rattled Rin out of his thoughts and he was forced to pay attention to her, who sat between him and Sae. Yui acted like a shield or glue between them - given how you see it - and it soothed and reassured him a bit.

Just as his gaze fell onto the girl, he inevitably saw Sae in his line of sight as well.
Rin glared in anger, but his expression soon softened again when he took the time to really observe him.

Sae was in deep thoughts. It was an expression all too familiar to Rin. After all, it was an expression his brother used to wear all the time when he was thinking about football. He saw it on the field, off the field, at their spot on the beach or sometimes even at home. It basically appeared, whenever Sae was about to make a serious decision on something.

Sae may seem aloof and act like he doesn't care, but watching him now, Rin realized that maybe his brother too had moments in which he got lost in thoughts - just like every one of them. It was something Rin didn't realize before.

Rin always thought that he understood his brother the best. He had watched and been by Sae's side longer than anyone else. He knew and resembled him more than anyone else - at least that's what Rin firmly believed the majority of his life.

But things were changing.

Rin looked at Sae, who wasn't paying any attention to him. Sae secretly side-eyed Yui, who curiously peeked up at him. A question appeared in his mind: 'What are you thinking right now, Nii-chan?'

Rin couldn't tell what it was that he knew about Sae. He couldn't understand Sae anymore. In his mind, he knew that it all started with them. He blamed them for suddenly appearing into their lives. These people that called themselves Sae and his friends. Their world was fine with him, his brother and football. They didn't need other people in it. Not people who would just bind them and drag them down, and yet these seven random people barged in and entered their world anyway.

For the first time, Rin saw a Sae he didn't know. Sides of his brother whom he thought he knew and understood perfectly suddenly didn't make sense anymore. Rin was forced to slowly face the truth, that maybe Sae wasn't who Rin made him out to be, and it frustrated and disgusted him so much. It was something Rin had a hard time to accept and understand. Even now, Rin felt like he was swallowing a bitter pill when he thought that there was someone who knew his brother better than he did.
He found it gross and disgusting. The back of his throat burned and he felt nauseous. He wondered... if he could, would he puke here and now?

Still... after the bitter pill had sunken in, Rin noticed how he felt strangely calm after the realization.

'You have gotten stronger, Rin.'

He remembered the words, Yui once comforted him with. Those were the same words that convinced him to let go of his resentment towards her.

Now, after the recent events, Rin knew for sure that the Sae in front of him now, isn't the same anymore.

It hurt. A lot.
But he was prepared.
A tiny part of him was prepared...
- a minuscule part of him.
But it hurts.

Rin ran a hand through his hair and swiped his bangs back in order to get rid of these unnecessary thoughts. «Only once. But Nii-ch... But we didn't get to do anything.» Rin replied calmly towards her question.

Yui curiously turned to look at him and Rin swore he saw his brother's eye narrow slightly in mild irritation. Somehow that gave him a sadistic sense of pleasure. Yui opened her mouth to ask why but Sae's deadpan, straightforward response interrupted her.

«That's only because you got a fever, you wet cube of sugar.» Sae's eyes were looking ahead arrogantly.

Rin felt annoyance rose within him at that accusation. Triggered, he decided to play dirty. Instead of arguing back at Sae, Rin turned his attention to Yui and caught her by locking their eyes together. «It's actually because Nii..-san went off on his own and got us both sick.»

He put on a innocent puppy look while saying this and Yui felt her heart melt at it. She reflexively tried to make him feel better by patting his head. It was a habit to do so whenever Rin was pouty or mad and it had a 98% chance of calming him down!

Rin relaxed and leaned back. He glanced at the front-mirror secretively and tried hard to hide the nasty, victorious smile that marred his lips.

From the corner of his eyes, Rin saw Sae's eyes glowing in slight annoyance lightly. Somehow satisfied with getting one up his brother, Rin allowed the memories to come and greet him.

Rin's POV

It was our first time at Disneyland. It was one of those few days Mom and Dad took their time off to bring us all there together. We were excited. I was - and Nii-chan too! Nii-chan had just started getting into football and he was quite upset about missing practice, but except for looking annoyed he didn't complain. It was a good thing. I didn't understand why, but I was happy to go with the family!

It was one of those hot summer days. Come to think of it, it was raining pretty suddenly on that day. In hindsight, this was to be expected: It was nearing the rainy season after all. Mom and dad probably knew, but what else can you say? Nii-chan and I were but little children back then.

At Disneyland, I remember how enormous and gigantic it looks. A place sprung-forth of fairy tale. It truly looked surreal. I can't tell what expression I made, but I'm sure it was an excited one.
The place of course was crowded. I held onto Nii-chan's hand to not get lost, and Nii-chan too held it tightly.

In a way, Sae didn't change much. Even as a child, he had his own head and so the moment he saw one of those booths that offered a football related event, he naturally wandered off.

I realized something was off when Sae distanced himself from our parents.

«Nii-chan! Nii-chan, wait! W-wait!» I called out to him, who suddenly let go of my hand and marched off on his own.

I saw the figure of my brother growing gradually smaller. The crowds pushed passed us and it claimed and buried my brother with in it. I reached out one of my hand only to grasp air. Did he not hear me? I think I was yelling once more...

Just as I lost sight of him, I felt tears well up inside of me. Had I just been abandoned? Ready to bawl I suddenly felt a slightly larger hand grabbed mine.

«Rin... This way.» Sae tightly held onto my hand and skillful maneuvered us through the crowds. I followed in a daze.

«Nii-chan, what about mom and dad? I can't see them anymore.» I asked with tears in his eyes. All the people around scared me. What if they would never find us again? What if we could never return home? I was a Child, of course I couldn't help but feel scared in this mass of people.

I held onto my Dumbo plushie tightly. My cheeks were already red from the stress and a bit of snot was running from my nose.

Sae stopped and pulled us to the side. He then grabbed a tissued and held it to my nose. I sniffed into it once and Sae winced in slight disgust. He quickly took the tissue and threw it away. Being around Nii-chan helped me feel better and I calmed down at this casual interaction.

«Rin, look at this.»
Sae spoke up and gestured towards the side. There was a small patch of green with goals lined up on booth side. In front of it was a clerk man that instructed people to line up and keep the order in a friendly and playful way.

I saw the field and the children playing on it. It was a simple game in which the children had to use a ball to get through a mini parcour and by the end of it, they will have to get the ball past the goalkeeper and score. My eyes widened when I saw them. 'It looked fun!'

Truth to be told, back then, I haven't fully grasped football and all. Sae had just suddenly returned home one day, demanding our parents to sign him up and let him play. Back then, it was rare for him to get hooked and this passionate about something and naturally our parents did sign him up.

It all, might have changed on that day. It was the day, I fell in love with Nii-chan's football.

Sae flashed me a soft smirk. Together we both lined up. Seeing my brother's confidence and radiance, made me completely forget about the world around us. I wanted to see what it was that enraptured my brother this much. He looked the most exciting, I've ever seen him!

Sae completely made me forget about our absent parents. Sae didn't show a hint of fear or unease and as such, I too knew that everything was going to be alright. 'Nii-chan's the coolest, after all!'

We lined up and soon it was Sae's turn to play. I decided to keep watch and quietly stood with one of the staff to the side, as I watched him handle the ball through the parcour smoothly. A bright smile flashed in Nii-chan's expression. It was rare, but radiant. I felt a spark of lightning burst within me. 'Football looks fun, Nii-chan.' I thought in awe as I watched Nii-chan score. I was charmed by the football Nii-chan played.

The people around us clapped and cheered for him and it pulled me out of my reverie. It seems like Sae had managed to gather a small crowd with the play he just did. I'm sure people started to notice his budding talent even then.

Before I noticed, I dashed towards my brother with a bright smile. «Nii-chan! Nii-chan! You're the coolest!» I cheered and tackled my brother into a tight hug. My eyes were shining like pair of gems beneath the light. It was dazzling. Nii-chan calmly smiled down at me and patted my hair.

«There's a free field here. Let's play together, Rin.» Sae casually invited me as he casually grabbed one of the nearest balls. I watched him turned around and saw the small hand that he held out behind him.

«Yes!» I cheered and joined my brother. I held his hand. Beneath the bright sun we were both smiling.

An hour later
We continued to play until the heat got to us. Needing a break, Nii-chan took me to rest in the shade of one of the benches. I don't know how, but Sae left for a moment and when he returned he had some shaved ice with him. The icy coldness did a wonderful job of cooling us down.
I looked around, thinking that everything was so peaceful. I was happy just being with Nii-chan.

They sat and ate, admiring the crowds of people that passed us by.

Today was a lot of fun. Everyday spent with my brother was a lot of fun. I turned around and saw Sae took a bite of his own ice cream. He noticed my gaze and and looked down at me with a small smile.

Rin's POV end

In his mind Sae probably already knew that his parents would chew him out the moment they found him, but he didn't mention it and quietly watched over them. Whatever it was he had a plan more often than not.

In Sae's mind, all he had to do was go to the Lost & Found later and wait till their parents came to pick them up...- or so the plan.

However, Sae didn't expect for the weather to suddenly change. Just as they were on their way to the Lost & Found Center, the weather suddenly shifted and heavy rain fell down from the skies. In no time the two of them were drenched and soaked by the pouring rain. They ran towards the nearest roof they could find it and took shelter.

Sae calmly looked at the rainy scenery. The busy streets emptied a bit and people tried to take refuge somewhere. Some were prepared and had umbrellas with them and so the streets were filled with colorful umbrellas, family and children.

Rin and Sae stood there silently and watch.

«Achoo!» Rin next to him sniffed as once again snot ran down his nose. Sae frowned again. He grabbed a tissue once more and handed it to Rin. «You do it yourself this time, Rin.» Despite his cold words Sae still held it in position for Rin. The only thing the younger Itoshi had to do was clean himself.

After a strong blow Rin took the tissue from Sae and cleaned after himself well. «Good job.» Sae complimented with a slight hint of pride seeing that Rin could do it properly.

Rin smiled joyfully and went back to grab onto Sae's hand. A part of him was feeling cold from the mild wind and drop of temperature around them, but Rin refused to whine or complain. After all, Sae was fine. So why wouldn't he be? He would become as strong and cool as his brother! Rin promised to himself as they quietly waited for the rain to ease.

A few minutes later the rain did ease and a huge rainbow appeared over them. Sae and Rin resumed their walk towards the Lost&Found center with a smile on their faces.

Later that day, they arrived and an announcement rang asking for their parents to appear at the Lost & Found Center. After waiting for around 15 mins two figure emerged and came dashing at them.
Seeing their frantic and worried looks, made Sae feel sorry.
Still, he figured they would be mad and so he closed his eyes and readied himself for a series of yelling and nagging. Instead of that however, Sae felt a strong pair of arms wrapped around him. Mixed with it was a tearful sorry and some nonsense comforting words.

Sae didn't understand. Why was his mother apologizing? In the end, it was him who voluntarily walked off and all ended well.

It was not all though.
The moment their parents checked up on them, they realized the little fever Rin had developed. Sae being a little older seemed to be better off slightly, but as children are even he couldn't help but feel a bit fatigued.

With Rin sick, they had no choice but to return home. Sae quietly followed as he walked behind their father who was carrying a sleeping Rin. A small smile appeared on his face. Sae wasn't mad or upset to leave early. It didn't matter to him anyway; all that he was happy for was playing football.

Looking at Rin who was hugging his Dumbo plushie tightly and slightly drooling in his smile, Sae thought that
Today was a nice day, after all.

A/N

I had a head canon of them in Disneyland as children and my heart went uwu~
As you can see the butterfly effect is slowly starting and the plot is diverging from Canon slightly