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Title: Second Life
Chapter: 11 - Elusive Helios
Character: Aoi Ryosuke, Ryuzaki Shinji
Fandom: Orthros no Inu
Rating: PG13
Summary: He hoped for a sign of calm to touch his brother's heart at least, but perhaps it was a bit too early to hope for that. Yet, Shinji would wait for that time to come. Until then, he would continue protecting Ryosuke with everything he has got.
A/N: Occasionally... my spelling/grammar checker gonna be a tsundere and noticed mistakes on past chapters that it didn't notice before. Times like that... I most likely be just editing the copies off FF.net only since it'll take much longer to fix the chapters on DW and LJ. Still, I'll try to fix it. I'll be uploading 12, the next day... and then we'd be caught up with the current chapters on FF.net
----
“Ne... Ryosuke, enough with the silent treatment, okay? I did say I’m sorry. I promise that I won’t tease you like that anymore—“
Suddenly Ryo started to grin as that took him aback. Shinji frowned.
“You were pulling on my leg... isn’t it?” he asked as Ryosuke laughed even harder. The younger brother took a slice of apple from the nearby table before nibbling on it, still snickering. Shinji leered at him as Ryo stuck his tongue at him.
“Actually... it’s not like I never got teased about... Na—Hasebe-san. Chiharu-san often did that... even more often than before ever since she changed jobs at the paediatrics.” Ryo swallowed as he took another slice and chomped on it thoughtfully. “I must have looked like someone who’s so easy to bully... ne? Even Shirakawa wanted to tease me about this...”
Shinji smirked. “So you admit it... that truthfully you’re actually—“
Ryosuke rolled his eyes elsewhere. “So this is how it feels, having an older brother who likes to nag. Hmm... for some reason, I’m glad I’m not really an older sibling—“ he mused aloud to Shinji’s amusement, but there’s no way he could just leave the topic like this.
“Ignoring me, huh? But I still won’t let it go just like this—why did you addressed Nagisa’s friend on first name basis yet called her still using her surname—“
Ryo turned towards him suddenly as Shinji jumped.
“I’m glad to have you as my brother.”
Shinji froze, he hadn’t expected such a random statement coming from Ryosuke. Ryosuke smiled as that managed to stun his brother enough that he was now speechless.
“It makes me wonder. Why was it that until now, I could not even remember anything when we used to be a family. Why was it—I could not even remember our mum... father? I didn’t even feel anything when I first met Pastor—Father. The only time I actually feel anything... was when, Father said my name. That time... before he di—“
Tears started falling from his eyes as Ryosuke tried to wipe it away. But the more he tried to wipe it so much, the more tears fell onto his cheeks.
“What the—I want to stop crying! I don’t want to—I hadn’t tried talking about this just to—“
Shinji sat closer to him as he pulled Ryosuke onto himself.
“I know. It’s not your fault. You were so little at that time, there’s no way you could have remembered anything. Also that time—“
Shinji suddenly remembered that one memory before their mother took Ryosuke away. There was a commotion raised at the shrine. Some of the village elders had started arguing with grandfather on why he had kept Ryosuke still alive in the village. Both of them happened to be nearby, so when one of the elders saw them... he immediately rushed towards Ryosuke; trying to kill his brother.
It had been so scary, Shinji had always thought that the elder was a nice person but that time he really looked like an oni. Like those scary statues and masks seen all over the shrine and village. If his father had not arrived, Ryosuke could have already—It’s not as if it hadn’t become better either. It was on that same day that mother had taken Ryosuke away...
Ryosuke looked up towards Shinji, finally able to stop crying but noticing that his brother had grown quiet all of a sudden. He waved his hand over his face as Shinji glanced at him.
“Something wrong?” Ryo asked as he wiped his nose. Shinji shook his head.
The memory of that day should have been very traumatic for Ryosuke. It wouldn’t have been that hard to believe that Ryosuke could have lost his memories of his real family. That, aside from him still being very young.
“Oi, Aniki! What’s wrong really... I’m sorry if what I said earlier—“
“It’s okay, it’s nothing...”
“It’s really—I really shouldn’t have started this topic, isn’t it? I really... should have let you continue teasing me about Hase—“
“Really, it’s nothing at all—“ Shinji started saying, shaking his head to reassure his brother but then stopped as Ryosuke suddenly become pale all of the sudden. “Ryosuke? What’s the matter? Ryosuke?”
Ryosuke shook his head to indicate it was nothing but Shinji knew it wasn’t since his brother had started shaking.
“Ryo—what’s wrong? I—“
Ryo shook his head hurriedly. “It’s nothing... it’s nothing...” he said again as he rubbed his nose, looking as if he’s trying to convince himself that it was all right. Glancing back to see his brother’s worried face, Ryosuke added.
“For some reason, suddenly I felt very scared for no reason. Like really... really scared. It’s—“ Ryosuke smiled weakly at him.
“Aniki... can I hold your hand?”
Shinji blinked but nodded as he did as told. Both of them went quiet for a while before Ryosuke shrugged nervously.
“Aniki... you know, you shouldn’t be so quiet. Say something funny...”
“Eh? Like what?”
Ryosuke forced himself to laugh. “Like how you’d like to go look for some potential girlfriend. Don’t tell me you want to be single and babysit me all the time?”
Shinji had to give the younger man the break he needed. He smiled as he ran his hand over Ryosuke’s head.
“You’re getting cheeky, isn’t it? Poke me on that topic after you got yourself permanently hooked with the lady detective—”
Ryosuke stared at him wide-eyed as his earlier tease backfired. Shinji laughed as finally he saw again the genuine surprise in his brother’s eyes, the earlier gloom seemed forgotten. Ryosuke appeared to want to say something to counter his teasing before a nurse who came to give Ryosuke his medications interrupted them.
“Oh man… what kind of timing is this? Suddenly I had no idea how to counter your reasoning, aniki…,” he said to the nurse’s confusion. Shinji laughed as he watched Ryosuke swallowed his pills…
xxx
Shinji sighed. Finally, Ryosuke was asleep. If he had followed Ryosuke’s reasoning, he should be going back home now. But somehow, after what had happened earlier; he wondered if he should be leaving Ryosuke unattended by himself. He already knew that Ryosuke had been having difficulty to fall asleep lately. The real reason he had always stayed beside his brother even after he was already asleep. Ryosuke probably would not remember any of it, even the nightmares that he had been having lately. Not that it’s a problem, since big brother was here to watch over.
Shinji smiled. To think how long had he yearned to be the kind of big brother that Ryosuke deserved. Back when he used to think that he had no brother anymore. He turned out not being such a bad brother, wasn’t he?
Shinji frowned as he eyed Ryosuke’s neck that had been left exposed. The bruises had faded almost completely now, but still… it’s not as if the memory of the incident had completely disappeared…
He gently touched Ryosuke’s neck before suddenly; as if by a sudden force of reaction, Ryosuke violently jerked awake before looking at him in alarm. Shinji jumped himself but hurriedly gave him some reassurance as Ryosuke immediately calmed down.
“It’s okay, I’m here…,” he said again as Ryo smiled weakly. Shinji ran his hand over Ryosuke’s head again as his brother slowly fall back to sleep.
Shinji sighed.
“Post-traumatic…syndrome, is it?” he muttered to himself before resting his head on Ryosuke’s bedside. He smiled painfully as he managed to hear Ryosuke soft sighs while he continued to sleep. He chuckled bitterly to himself.
It seemed that another of his earlier plans backfired on him. Before, he thought that after he managed to make Ryosuke strong—strong enough to fend for himself—he would disappear from his brother’s life forever. But in the end, his job of protecting Ryosuke was far from being over.
Wonder if he should be happy about it… or not.
That was Shinji’s last thought before he too, fell into the realm of dreams and nothingness…
Chapter: 11 - Elusive Helios
Character: Aoi Ryosuke, Ryuzaki Shinji
Fandom: Orthros no Inu
Rating: PG13
Summary: He hoped for a sign of calm to touch his brother's heart at least, but perhaps it was a bit too early to hope for that. Yet, Shinji would wait for that time to come. Until then, he would continue protecting Ryosuke with everything he has got.
A/N: Occasionally... my spelling/grammar checker gonna be a tsundere and noticed mistakes on past chapters that it didn't notice before. Times like that... I most likely be just editing the copies off FF.net only since it'll take much longer to fix the chapters on DW and LJ. Still, I'll try to fix it. I'll be uploading 12, the next day... and then we'd be caught up with the current chapters on FF.net
----
“Ne... Ryosuke, enough with the silent treatment, okay? I did say I’m sorry. I promise that I won’t tease you like that anymore—“
Suddenly Ryo started to grin as that took him aback. Shinji frowned.
“You were pulling on my leg... isn’t it?” he asked as Ryosuke laughed even harder. The younger brother took a slice of apple from the nearby table before nibbling on it, still snickering. Shinji leered at him as Ryo stuck his tongue at him.
“Actually... it’s not like I never got teased about... Na—Hasebe-san. Chiharu-san often did that... even more often than before ever since she changed jobs at the paediatrics.” Ryo swallowed as he took another slice and chomped on it thoughtfully. “I must have looked like someone who’s so easy to bully... ne? Even Shirakawa wanted to tease me about this...”
Shinji smirked. “So you admit it... that truthfully you’re actually—“
Ryosuke rolled his eyes elsewhere. “So this is how it feels, having an older brother who likes to nag. Hmm... for some reason, I’m glad I’m not really an older sibling—“ he mused aloud to Shinji’s amusement, but there’s no way he could just leave the topic like this.
“Ignoring me, huh? But I still won’t let it go just like this—why did you addressed Nagisa’s friend on first name basis yet called her still using her surname—“
Ryo turned towards him suddenly as Shinji jumped.
“I’m glad to have you as my brother.”
Shinji froze, he hadn’t expected such a random statement coming from Ryosuke. Ryosuke smiled as that managed to stun his brother enough that he was now speechless.
“It makes me wonder. Why was it that until now, I could not even remember anything when we used to be a family. Why was it—I could not even remember our mum... father? I didn’t even feel anything when I first met Pastor—Father. The only time I actually feel anything... was when, Father said my name. That time... before he di—“
Tears started falling from his eyes as Ryosuke tried to wipe it away. But the more he tried to wipe it so much, the more tears fell onto his cheeks.
“What the—I want to stop crying! I don’t want to—I hadn’t tried talking about this just to—“
Shinji sat closer to him as he pulled Ryosuke onto himself.
“I know. It’s not your fault. You were so little at that time, there’s no way you could have remembered anything. Also that time—“
Shinji suddenly remembered that one memory before their mother took Ryosuke away. There was a commotion raised at the shrine. Some of the village elders had started arguing with grandfather on why he had kept Ryosuke still alive in the village. Both of them happened to be nearby, so when one of the elders saw them... he immediately rushed towards Ryosuke; trying to kill his brother.
It had been so scary, Shinji had always thought that the elder was a nice person but that time he really looked like an oni. Like those scary statues and masks seen all over the shrine and village. If his father had not arrived, Ryosuke could have already—It’s not as if it hadn’t become better either. It was on that same day that mother had taken Ryosuke away...
Ryosuke looked up towards Shinji, finally able to stop crying but noticing that his brother had grown quiet all of a sudden. He waved his hand over his face as Shinji glanced at him.
“Something wrong?” Ryo asked as he wiped his nose. Shinji shook his head.
The memory of that day should have been very traumatic for Ryosuke. It wouldn’t have been that hard to believe that Ryosuke could have lost his memories of his real family. That, aside from him still being very young.
“Oi, Aniki! What’s wrong really... I’m sorry if what I said earlier—“
“It’s okay, it’s nothing...”
“It’s really—I really shouldn’t have started this topic, isn’t it? I really... should have let you continue teasing me about Hase—“
“Really, it’s nothing at all—“ Shinji started saying, shaking his head to reassure his brother but then stopped as Ryosuke suddenly become pale all of the sudden. “Ryosuke? What’s the matter? Ryosuke?”
Ryosuke shook his head to indicate it was nothing but Shinji knew it wasn’t since his brother had started shaking.
“Ryo—what’s wrong? I—“
Ryo shook his head hurriedly. “It’s nothing... it’s nothing...” he said again as he rubbed his nose, looking as if he’s trying to convince himself that it was all right. Glancing back to see his brother’s worried face, Ryosuke added.
“For some reason, suddenly I felt very scared for no reason. Like really... really scared. It’s—“ Ryosuke smiled weakly at him.
“Aniki... can I hold your hand?”
Shinji blinked but nodded as he did as told. Both of them went quiet for a while before Ryosuke shrugged nervously.
“Aniki... you know, you shouldn’t be so quiet. Say something funny...”
“Eh? Like what?”
Ryosuke forced himself to laugh. “Like how you’d like to go look for some potential girlfriend. Don’t tell me you want to be single and babysit me all the time?”
Shinji had to give the younger man the break he needed. He smiled as he ran his hand over Ryosuke’s head.
“You’re getting cheeky, isn’t it? Poke me on that topic after you got yourself permanently hooked with the lady detective—”
Ryosuke stared at him wide-eyed as his earlier tease backfired. Shinji laughed as finally he saw again the genuine surprise in his brother’s eyes, the earlier gloom seemed forgotten. Ryosuke appeared to want to say something to counter his teasing before a nurse who came to give Ryosuke his medications interrupted them.
“Oh man… what kind of timing is this? Suddenly I had no idea how to counter your reasoning, aniki…,” he said to the nurse’s confusion. Shinji laughed as he watched Ryosuke swallowed his pills…
xxx
Shinji sighed. Finally, Ryosuke was asleep. If he had followed Ryosuke’s reasoning, he should be going back home now. But somehow, after what had happened earlier; he wondered if he should be leaving Ryosuke unattended by himself. He already knew that Ryosuke had been having difficulty to fall asleep lately. The real reason he had always stayed beside his brother even after he was already asleep. Ryosuke probably would not remember any of it, even the nightmares that he had been having lately. Not that it’s a problem, since big brother was here to watch over.
Shinji smiled. To think how long had he yearned to be the kind of big brother that Ryosuke deserved. Back when he used to think that he had no brother anymore. He turned out not being such a bad brother, wasn’t he?
Shinji frowned as he eyed Ryosuke’s neck that had been left exposed. The bruises had faded almost completely now, but still… it’s not as if the memory of the incident had completely disappeared…
He gently touched Ryosuke’s neck before suddenly; as if by a sudden force of reaction, Ryosuke violently jerked awake before looking at him in alarm. Shinji jumped himself but hurriedly gave him some reassurance as Ryosuke immediately calmed down.
“It’s okay, I’m here…,” he said again as Ryo smiled weakly. Shinji ran his hand over Ryosuke’s head again as his brother slowly fall back to sleep.
Shinji sighed.
“Post-traumatic…syndrome, is it?” he muttered to himself before resting his head on Ryosuke’s bedside. He smiled painfully as he managed to hear Ryosuke soft sighs while he continued to sleep. He chuckled bitterly to himself.
It seemed that another of his earlier plans backfired on him. Before, he thought that after he managed to make Ryosuke strong—strong enough to fend for himself—he would disappear from his brother’s life forever. But in the end, his job of protecting Ryosuke was far from being over.
Wonder if he should be happy about it… or not.
That was Shinji’s last thought before he too, fell into the realm of dreams and nothingness…
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