The walk home was lonely and quiet.
Still, it was pretty peaceful. After witnessing utter brutality earlier, the trip had been enough to clear those reoccurring thoughts where you'd think back to Shiro's bloodied fists smeared in another man's blood. When you reached your doorstep you took out your key and then spared a brief glance to your neighbor's still door. Obviously you considered checking on them.. but you knew better than to stick your nose where it doesn't belong.
'I wonder if Seiichiro is talking to him right about now.' You'd think to yourself as you shoved your apartment key right into the keyhole. Then after a simple turn and twist-- you walked right inside.
Quickly you got settled and went to unwind; dropping yourself onto the only couch in your small living room. You let out a long sigh, slouching slowly yet surely to feel the sweet comfort of your couch cushions after such a harsh day at school. You left quite the impression today, and while it was your first... It definitely wasn't going to be your last.
"So, I have to do some homework.. and then unpack the rest of my things..." You started counting your fingers whilst you muttered aloud openly. The tasks that needed to be done couldn't wait, knowing you-- you'd end up procrastinating until your dying breath. And with little space to relax, you motivated yourself to get on your feet and carry on with your chores.
It took you less than two hours to complete some assignments, thankfully, as it could've easily been a drawn-out session of headaches and misery. You were currently hauling a few boxes to your bedroom, carefully going through load after load and placing items in their designated places. Unfortunately after all said and done, you had a few boxes remaining which took up free space within your small living room. Which means, not only do you have to travel up to the tiny, desolate attic upstairs -- but you also had to lug a few heavy cardboard boxes up while you do so.
The thought of going up there alone creeps you out more than achieving good grades.
So, what's the wisest decision? Potentially crushing your spine beneath the weight of your storage, or.. relying on those brothers? Your stomach twirled in knots upon thinking about Shiro, which is why you hesitated for such a long time. Seiichiro, on the other hand-seemed like the most rational route to take. He was the charismatic oldest-- devoid of malice and trustworthy-- to some extent.
You fought yourself to gather up some courage to approach your front door. Later you stood in front of the closed door of the twins you'd thought of seconds prior.. staring at the doorway instilled you with the promise of deja vu. It felt odd. Once again; you had a feeling you've done this before. It was enough to keep you spiraling, unable to distinguish what was reality or what was an illusion created by your mischievous brain.
You fidgeted around awkwardly, caught at a crossroads between shying away from the door and confidently raising your first to the doorframe only to back off. "Gosh, this would be so much easier if I just got his phone number or something..." You were heard muttering to yourself, and because of your distraction you didn't realize the figure of someone else looming right behind you. It was until you heard their footsteps that you whipped around quickly on instinct.
Obviously you looked startled. You couldn't hide that fact for the world. "Ah- damn it!" Cursing uncontrollably seemed to be your coping mechanism for that brief scare. When you settled your eyes onto the newest, golden-eyed visitor, your muscles immediately relaxed and you breathed out in relief. Thank god it was the young man you were hoping to encounter. "Oh, it's just you..."
Seiichiro appeared pleased already. He, similarly to his brother, would look elated by the sight of you. He stalled his sentence with ease, holding a confused-- but warm-- grin after he realized it was you loitering in front of their doorway. "I wasn't expecting you either. What are you doing talking to yourself right there?" He casually pointed at you, and in doing so, you noticed there was a convenience store bag in his other hand.
You shifted on by when he approached the door, reaching into the plastic bag for what you assumed to be his house key. To your surprise however -- it was a chocolate bar wrapped in aluminum packaging. "Snack?" He offered. You seriously couldn't resist grabbing it since the offer stood. "Okay, thanks!"
Seiichiro started taking out his house key after that, but halted after you abruptly stopped him, merely by the sound of your voice. "Hold on," You interjected, "Could you do me a little favor, if you don't mind?" Why beat around the bush when you could get straight to the point? "I have some boxes that I have to put up in my attic.. thing is, I can't do it myself. So, uh..-"
Seeing how he already grasped the gist of it by his understanding nod, the oldest retracted the key he was prepared to use before returning it to where it once was. "That's all? Then consider it done." It's just as you thought; the young man before you was definitely the reliable type. Great, friend acquired!
The two of you willingly entered your humble abode which was only a door down, and before you knew it you were already tasking Seiichiro with the task of lugging your heavy cargo upstairs. "It's only these two that I need help with." You gestured towards the very obvious storage boxes in the distance after the both of you ventured past the hallway and into the living room. And while he preoccupied himself with picking them up, you focused on pulling the ceiling rope to unfold your foldable staircase. Some dust flew up your nose in its making, but you wafted it away with your hand as Seiichiro would be holding both boxes, one right on top of the other, like it was some of easy feat.
Such a difference between strengths. It's.. kind of scary.
"Pardon me," Said the student, passing on by you and carefully treading up the steps. His posture was solid all the way up the few flights, so you pretty much watched in admiration before ultimately following him on up. "Where do you want me to set this?" He asks aloud once he successfully made it up. Despite being a few steps behind him, you could hear his footsteps thudding against your ceiling. It was not very quiet considering the load he was carrying, yet it wasn't too heavy either.
"Um, how about right there?" You pointed towards the corner -- and now that you got the chance to see this small attic of yours, you noticed the strange detail regarding the room itself. It was kept relatively clean.. in fact, you barely saw a speck of dust. "Wow, look at that couch. It's so clean I could probably use it downstairs!" In the quaint room sat an old modern couch near the window in the place. Curiously you approached it and inspected it with your eyes, passing by Seiichiro who gave you a little glance as he sat the boxes down where you instructed.
"That's weird." He said, deciding to place his opinion, "Usually the landlords would get rid of stuff like this. It's odd how they kept it." The young man stood up straight and then massaged his shoulder briefly. Perhaps the storage did take a toll on him after all.
You gave the furniture a quick touch and sank your palm against the lush cushions, weaving out a childish smile like you were unable to contain your excitement. "Well..~ I'm not complaining! C'mere, let's push the thing down the stairs!"
It's in times like these where your recklessness utterly shocks those nearby. You knew Seiichiro just wouldn't have that-- it sounded like a terrible idea with a terrible outcome. While part of you was a little satisfied with the idea, you knew to park the joke there before you'd walk yourself into a precarious predicament. "...Huh?"
Your [E/C] optics notably caught something settled within your peripheral vision. By the leg of the beige couch you inevitably realized a bottle of pill tablets carelessly resting in an conspicuous position. "Hm? What is it? A rat?" Behind you, you heard Seiichiro saying something-- but you were too invested in your latest discovery to provide a response. So you hesitated, halting your reply after you picked it up and stared at it warily.
"I think I just found someone's medication or something."
You hummed contemplatively, lifting your other hand to your chin. Your thumb grazed the exterior and then you decided to rotate it some more.. curious about the name on the label. In doing so, you could faintly focus on the footsteps of your neighbor quickly drawing near -- and as soon as you had blinked.. the bottle of pills were impulsively snatched out of your hands.
It took a second to fully comprehend it, but when you tracked your attention to Seiichiro; he was looking at your discovery for a second longer before quickly regressing into his contagious extroversion. "There's nothing special about these meds." He tossed them right up into the air, just to catch it effortlessly as he grinned and changed the subject swiftly. "Hey, by the way- what were in those boxes? It felt like you threw bricks in there..."
Your eyes lit up by the mention. "In there are my memories and stuff! Do you wanna see?" Not exactly taking no for answer, you zoomed up to the boxes and opened it. You dug past the styrofoam and pulled out albums almost endlessly -- and each one of them were dedicated to you. In short, it was an entire trilogy of your childhood.
You sauntered right back up to where he stood and threw yourself onto the couch, tapping the empty spot next to you suggestively. "Sit down and get comfortable! We're gonna look through a few of these together." It's a good thing Seiichiro wasn't planning on objecting. He got comfortable on command willingly, genuinely displaying interest in peering into your precious memories.
"You've got ton of albums! Your parents just couldn't keep a camera out of your face, huh?" He scooted over and held the other end of your picture album- the both of you sat there sharing it for the time being, scanning through it together. The two of you had some good laughs here and there and you had some rather unavoidable embarrassment coming from your end -- after Seiichiro spotted your humiliating baby photos showing off your glorious little butt.
You didn't realize a full forty minutes had passed.
While the both of you were sharing laughs, so much time had passed since. It could easily gone on forever if Seiichiro's phone didn't start buzzing in his pocket. "Oh-" He stopped everything he was doing to reach for his device, and when he saw the caller's name on the screen-- he was quick to pick it up. Casually he pressed answer and brought his phone up to his ear, greeting them in calm. "Yo, Shiro. I promise I didn't forget about ya."
You tilted your head to the side in an attempt to eavesdrop, only Shiro's low voice on the other end of the line made picking up his words slightly incomprehensible. Instead you settled on just watching his face patiently for some kind of facial cue.
During the terse call, Seiichiro looked completely at ease. He listened to what his brother had to say and then replied with some closed-ended answers. In short, the exchange itself was nothing but casual. He hung up as quickly as he answered, so the brief interaction between them wasn't long at all.
"Mm. Well, Shiro was just wondering where I am." He stood up from the couch, "I stepped out to get the both of us some snacks before we ended up here." The young man let out a chuckle, meanwhile you were closing your photo album with a nice nod of your head.
"You shouldn't keep him waiting!" You said and shooed him away using your hand. "I'll see the both of you tomorrow at school. It was fun while it lasted, Seiichiro." And you meant every word. Since you moved here you were utterly grateful for their kindness and hospitality, etc. It would've been a lot more tougher without them around. Your neighbor promptly smiled as he normally does, and after that you made sure to escort him all the way to your door to see him off.
You gripped your doorknob while Seiichiro stood outside your door, giving you a little wave as he prepared himself to head to his own home. But before that, he stopped himself in his tracks-- and then faced you intently. "Hey, let me know if you need my help again. I might not be much, but I can still be of use. That attic looks like it's home to rodents and the like..."
Unbeknownst to you, he clutched the bottle of pill tablets he kept concealed in his pocket... deliberately keeping secrets from you.
[Chapter END]