𝘉𝘖𝘕𝘋𝘚 | ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒ

fifty seven

I scratched the back of my neck, feeling a little uncomfortable now that we were in the moment. Especially because of the good feeling I had, that he wasn't going to like my suggestion in the slightest. "I talked with Hajime some more... and... I don't know... he told me he knew the person who killed our parents."

I reached into the pocket of my jacket, pulling out the picture he had given me a few days prior. The one of our mother, father, and us both. I showed it to Kenji, smiling gently at the sight of it. "He also gave me this. He said... he wants us to kill the person who killed our parents. He said he wants us to do it together. And... that he wants us to go to this place together."

I flipped the picture over, showing him the set of coordinates. "This is what'll take me to the place where I grew up. I... I really want to go. But... but I want to hear what you have to say first."

Kenji was quiet. He took the picture from my hand and eyed the set of scribbled numbers, before flipping it over and looking at my parents. I waited patiently, gaze farting between his face and the smiling ones of my mother and father.

"You want my honest answer?"

"I do."

He chuckled, setting the picture down on the counter. He tapped on my fathers face. "First of all, I have to say you look a lot like your father. Scarily so. Which leads me to think... this picture isn't fake. And that Hajime may really be your brother. Especially when this young boy looks like him as well."

I blinked, shocked by the words coming out of his mouth. "You... you really think I look like him?"

Kenji craned his neck, looking at me with a warm expression, though there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. "I do."

I picked up the picture and eyed my fathers face, raising my hand to my cheek and running my fingers down the side of my skin, gently. I stared into his unblinking, dark colored eyes—and I couldn't help but letting out a breathy laugh. "Thank you."

"Of course... as you may have thought already... I don't think it's a good idea for you to leave with Hajime." He scratched at his scruff, before pushing the bud of the cigarette into the tray. Leaning back in his chair, he sighed deeply. "We don't know him well. I'm sorry, but I can't give my trust to someone solely because they're family to someone close to me. Sometimes... those closest to us are the ones who betray us the most. The ones we expect the most out of let us down."

He reached forward and ruffled my hair gently. "I hope you understand where I'm coming from."

While my heart sunk at his disapproval... I did understand. So I nodded, giving him a small smile to let him know I didn't harbor any hard feelings. "Yeah. I get it... I just... i don't know..."

"If he proves himself to be more trustworthy, then you have my blessing." He snorted. "But as long as I'm around, I don't think you heading off with him is a good idea. At least not when you barely know him."

I nodded again. "Yeah. I'll.. I'll keep that in mind."

After that, I headed out to meet Katsu and Ryuu for dinner. It was at a simple barbecue place, though the food we were barbecuing wasn't red meat, but more like fish and other seafood taken from the rivers near by. The cracking of the food on the barbecue was calming, especially as I mulled over the realization that I wouldn't be leaving with my brother anytime soon.