"Hey, you okay there?"
Rigaku looked over his shoulder, shielding his eyes.
"Uh... Ri, is that you?" Kagetsu jumped into the hole. "What are you doing here?"
A mess of words and sentences danced in his mind, but no plausible explanation surfaced.
"That's..." Rigaku averted his eyes, glancing the big sports bag and digging his fingers into the wall.
"You don't need to tell me." Kagetsu offered his hand. "Let's go home."
With a hesitation, Rigaku accepted the hand, stumbling forward.
"What's wrong with your leg?" Kagetsu lowered his body, casting a light on the lifted feet as his brother limped.
"I think I twisted it when I've fallen here."
"We need to treat it fast!"
"Yeah, a pack of ice would do nicely." Rigaku gave him a weak smile.
"Hold on, I'll try to pull you up."
Without waiting, Kagetsu let his brother leaning against the wall, threw his sports bag over the edge, and jumped up. With his physique, he climbed up within seconds despite being smaller.
In the dimmed moonlight, he looked like night creatures from urban legends. After many huffs, Rigaku got his torso over the edge as his brother pulled him up. The wet grass tickled his face and smeared his clothes. He let out a few deep breaths before he got on all fours.
Kagetsu meanwhile searched the area, finding Rigaku's belongings. "Here are your glasses, but..." His brother squatted, giving him broken ones.
Staying askew on Rigaku's nose, he saw only half of the world as he used to. The right temple broke at the hinge as Kagetsu stepped on them.
"Arigatou. And no worries. I've spare ones in my room."
Slowly, step by step, they made their way back. Neither of them went sleeping that day as Friday had come with a crushing weight.
Standing in front of the rooms, Kagetsu helped Rigaku into his bedroom.
"It looks really bad!" Kagetsu shouted as he put down the shoe and sock. Rigaku sat on his bed, his sore muscles begging for rest. "I'll get you something cold."
Meanwhile, Rigaku slid down his trousers, wincing with pain as he moved with his hurt feet.
"Hey, Ri! Slow down!" A slight blush spread across his face, seeing his brother half-naked. 'What gives?'
Placing a cold cloth on the wound, Rigaku hissed through his teeth as the burning turned into blazing flames, spreading through his whole leg. After an antagonizing minute, he let go of a deep breath. "Much better."
"Good, but no school for you, young man," his brother reprimanded him as if he was his mother. "You always overwork yourself. It's going to get really bad if you strain yourself. We don't have enough ice packs for that." He joked, giving his oldest brother a wide grin.
A weak response reflected on Rigaku's face for a few seconds before it faded into sadness. Kagetsu kept pressing the cold cloth on the swollen ankle, changing its position to spread the relief.
"Why don't you ask why I was there?" Rigaku whispered.
Kagetsu stopped moving, his fingers gently increasing the pressure on Rigaku's foot.
"You have your reasons. I shouldn't pry into them." He lowered his head. "But I would be really an idiot if I didn't guess it, right?"
His oldest brother couldn't give him an answer.
"You saw me, didn't you? Sneaking out of the complex..."
"Hai. I thought it was somebody suspicious. I didn't know it was you. I followed you without thinking."
"And then you watched me in the gazebo."
Rigaku averted his eyes despite his brother cast his eyes on the swollen ankle. "Hai. I realized it's you when you lit up your phone."
Kagetsu left to get another ice into the cloth, asking after he returned, "You don't want to know what I was doing there?"
Rigaku burrowed his fingers into the blanket, but the disappearing pain in his leg had nothing to do with it.
"Well, my guess is you were practicing for the play. But why so late? Is Sakura-san overworking you?"
Kagetsu jerked his head up that he scared his brother. "No! Not at all! I just—" He bit his lips, keeping his words sealed.
The oldest Kamini let out a shallow breath. "You just...?"
He stopped abusing is shivering lip. "I just thought I'm not enough elegant."
"Elegant? Your dance looked good."
"Have you seen a ballet dancer or figure skaters? Those are much better! I look like a rock with two left feet!"
"But you aren't practicing either. You can't expect to have the same movements." Rigaku pushed up his glasses, realizing he still had the broken ones. "If I tried to mimic any martial art's technique, I would defeat my enemies with uncontrollable laughter. I would look silly."
His words were meant to lift Kagetsu's spirit, but they had fallen on deaf ear.
"I know, but still... it sucks." Another minute of awkward silence filled the room, but Kagetsu broke it with a question, "How's your ankle?"
"It's better."
"Okay. I'll fixate it, but it won't stop you from moving so, don't wiggle." Kagetsu's forced joking tone jammed, going up and down. He stopped moving except for his eyes tearing. "I-I know what I promised." He again bit his shivering lip. "I'm working on that. I promise!"
A hiccup escaped him. "It may take a bit longer. I'm a slow learner... stupid." He gulped his tears. "I'll be normal. Maybe visiting a psycho doctor would speed it up?" He smeared the slime from his nose across his cheeks with tears.
Kagetsu got up when his brother pounced at him, giving him a big hug, and they collapsed on the floor.
Only thanks to the soft carpet, they didn't suffer big bruises, but Kagetsu was still shocked.
"Hey, Ri! You okay?" He rolled on the stomach, trying to shake his brother off, who held him like a leech.
"You baka," Rigaku mumbled into his neck. "You are normal." Pangs of pain pierced his brain as he doubted about it, but right now, it didn't matter. Only his bother's smile had any value for him now.
"I can't be!" He supported his brother with his left hand. "Boys don't wear dresses and enjoy it!"
The shirt Kagetsu wore crumbled as Rigaku dug his fingers, losing the strength in them as he was short on breath. Within a minute, he let go, laying on the carpet.
"We need to talk. Now." He breathed heavily.
Kagetsu glanced at the wall clock. If they would be lucky, they could have two hours of sleep before going to school.
"Don't be silly." He tried to lighten up. "It's too late. Let's wait for—" He stopped as Rigaku grabbed his T-shirt's neck.
"Onegai," he whispered.
Kagetsu's head lowered. "Okay. But put on some pajamas first, and I'll fixate your ankle."
"That's fair."
Baka - idiot
Onegai - please, informal