what do you think, suya?

     rikus eyes met his brothers across the classroom. he couldnt help but smile.

          he flashes his crooked teeth at his older brother. his brother, tatsuya, was only older by a few minutes but he still got bragging rights. he still walked around the house shouting "im the older one, i get first picking!". that was just something he did, something about who he was as a person. tatsuya liked being the older brother. he liked being in charge. bossing riku around was one of his favorite things to do, after teasing him for how short he was. tatsuya was only a few inches taller, why did he get to be so pushy about it? still though, riku loved his brother. he always saw kids at school fighting with their sibling. why? riku and tatsuya had never fought in there life!... that was a lie actually. just, they rarely ever fought. some people at their old school thought they were insane for always sticking together.

        they both always held hands in the hallway so they wouldnt loose each other. they always smiled and blinked at the same time so they looked the same. they always had their hair the same length and color so theyd leave people playing the guessing game. who was who? not even their own mother knew sometimes. she was really busy with work all the time, so she never really got a good look at the two enough to stare at their faces and go "theres my little riku!" or "theres that stinker suya!" shed then pucker up her lips and hold onto their cheeks. riku loved when she did that. but now that she sat at a computer screen all day with a large cup of coffee next to her and a photo of their father, he never saw her anymore.

        tatsuya was staring down at his paper, biting his lip. that was something he did when he was nervous. maybe he was scared about whatever they were learning. once the teacher passed him a paper, he looked down at the desk. he glanced at tatsuya one last time before grabbing his pencil and putting it in his mouth. he liked doing that. riku never minded being called weird or a freak. he just was a little different. 

        he read over the page once before dropping the pen from his mouth. it landed onto the desk with a thunk and rolled to the edge. tatsuya jumped sightly at the sound, since the room was so quiet besides for the teachers heels meeting the tiled flooring. he whirled around and saw his brother, a goofy grin painted on his cheeks and his eyes pointed towards the pencil rolling on his desk. tatsuya rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out across the room.

          "sorry. i dropped my..." his eyes landed back on tatsuya, who seemed like he was holding in a laugh. he then proceeded to mimic his brother by looking down at his lap and pretending to scream. then, tatsuya began to giggle. "... pencil. i dropped my pencil." riku shifted and sat up so his teacher didnt yell at him for being 'improper'. tatsuya bit his lip to provent him from laughing. the teacher then turned away to approach the class. 

     "how could you embarrass yourself like that, riku? that shit was funny!"

          "suya! stop saying those words... if mom finds out were done for!" riku shoved tatsuyas shoulder in an attempt to get him to be quiet. tatsuya just kept laughing, bending over from time to time to let out a few patches of air from his lungs. "seriously, suya! quit it!" riku clapped his hand overs his brothers shoulder as he rocked back and forth laughing. 

          "sorry, sorry," he inhaled and exhaled quickly. tatsuya had to stop walking just to catch his breath. "sorry, riku... just picturing you like that -" he wiped a tear from his glossy eyes "- like how you were in class... i cant help but laugh! i can always picture you tripping in the middle of the hallway and dropping yout stupid little kid books and going 'o-oh, im so sorry! pwease dont waugh at me'! isnt that good?" as tatsuya spoke, he pointed to rikus small backpack. it didnt have the stuff he needed for school, no, it just had books. books about animals and plants. he always found a connection to animals and plants, he was never sure why. just hed get so excited when he heard someone from across the area asking what someones favorite animal or kind of flower is. cat, dog, bird, bear. no, no, rikus favorite animals were kakapo birds. they were the only parrots in the world that couldnt fly, so that made them easy prey. they also are almost extinct, at 41 left in the world. actually, they were being kept on an island to keep them protected. 

          riku kept walking as tatsuya dragged behind him. he skipped away, dodging puddles. "yeah, yeah, whatever." he wasnt listening, he was too busy humming his favorite song to be thoughtful. tatsuya rolled his eyes and adjusted his backpack. 

          "um... so, riku, what do you wanna do once we get home?" he asked, now running up next to his brother. "i thought we could go to the park. if mom okays it that is." tatsuya smiled and looked riku in the eyes. riku didnt return the look. 

          "okay. sure." riku then looked up at the clouds. the sky was a light gray color, like a storm was brewing up inside of the clouds. riku knew that was precipitation. it was a stage of when the sky absorb water through evaporation and make rain. "... actually, i dunno, suya. look at the sky!" he reached for his brothers hand then pointed it at the sky.

        "oh... so i guess no park then, huh?" tatsuya narrowed his eyes at the sky then turned back to his brother. "say, how about we play on that new nintendo thingy mom got for us, huh? huh, wittle bruvva?"

          rikus eyes lit up. not only did he really like nature, but he liked all these new games that were coming out, too. he smiled, "yes! yes, yes!" 

          "whats that? i cant hear you?"

          "YES! I WANNA PLAY!" riku shouted, jumping up and down. he kicked his legs around and stomped his feet into a puddle. water splashed all over his bright yellow raincoat once his feet met the water. tatsuya pointed a finger at his brother and burst out laughing.

     "yes, take that, earthly scum! haha!" 

          "oh, come on!" tatsuya stood up and tossed the controller across the floor. it hit the bottom bunk. the length was barely enough for the cord connected to the screen. riku fell onto his back and let out a bark of a laugh. 

        "oh, haha! you should see your face, suya! oh my gpd this is priceless!" riku laughed to himself as tatsuya was left panting across the room. his fists were clentched tightly. 

          "you bitch! why do you think this is funny?" tatsuya stomped his foot against the ground. "ughh, this is so unfair! im telling mom!" he then stormed off into the hallway. riku stared at the now unhinged door and jumped up from his feet behind tatsuya. 

          "wait up!" he called out from behind. 

         "leave me alone! i never want to see your stupid face ever again, riku!" tatsuya turned around. they were already half way down the stairs to see their mother. she worked in the basement most of the time, so it was a trip from the upstairs to the downstairs. 

          "suya... come on, it was a game, man." riku held onto the railing as he tip toed behind tatsuya. he didnt say another word to his brother before stepping inside the empty basement.

         the basement was mainly full of piles of boxes, covered in dust and cob webs. they hadnt really been down here much since their mom practically moved down here. it smelled like pickles down here, and riku didnt like pickles that much.

          "mom!" tatsuya ran ahead. "mom! riku was being mean to me!" he sped for her desk in the back of the basement. 

          "suya, no! stop!" riku reached out to grab tatsuyas t shirt, but he missed. "tatsuya! stop!"

           "riku akane! what is the fuss about?" their mother appeared in front of the two of them. tatsuya was slapping riku away with his palm.

          "he was being mean to me! punish him, mom!" tatsuya said with a glossy in his eyes. their mother clapped a hand over her mouth. 

          "youve got to be kidding me.."

           "okay, okay, you two... stop fighting okay?" she rubbed her eyes and yawned. "mommy is very tired... im sorry, boys, how about we head off to sleep?" 

           riku grinned. "yes, mom," he got a glimse of tatsuyas face. "can i tell you about what happened at school today? i found some bugs in the grass at recess!" 

            "tomorrow... mommy is really tired after a long day of work." she let out another faint yawn before walking upstairs with her two sons. 

           she turned the corner and walked down the hall to her room. she said, "good night, boys. sweet dreams, mommy loves you."

           "i love you mom! goodnight!" riku called from down the hallway. he placed his hand on tatsuyas back. 

          "bitch. i knew youd do that." he said, narrowing his eyes. riku smiled nervously and raised a shoulder like it was a half shrug.

         "do what? mom was just tired...?"

        tatsuya stayed slient. "im going to bed." 

    "suyaaaaa! suyyyyyaaaaaa!" 

          riku raced up behind his brother. tatsuya was running down the street to school in the rain. the sky was a dark gray and there were puddles flooding the sidewalks. tatsuya forgot to grab his umbrella, so he was left running down the street in the rain. riku actually used his brain and grabbed it, aware of the pouring rain from the sky. he pulled his hood up over his curly blue hair. that was funny, riku and tatsuya dyed their hair together. their mother okayed it, so what was so bad about it? they ended up bleaching it and then coloring it once they moved here. they came from a whole different country, it was scary for them since they were so young. 

          "suya! wait for me!" riku reached out for his brother, but he was already too far ahead og him. this reminded him of the time they had to run down the street since they almost missed the bus. they barely made it. tatsuya almost died he was so out of breath! crazy.

           "riku, stop! youre going to trip!" tatsuya turned around very briefly to warn his younger brother.

          "huh?" riku kept running and talking at the same time (a bad idea) and let out little pants between each word he let out. tatsuya was a lot faster than him and a lot better than him at a lot of things actually. from racing to the bus stop from spelling tests, tatsuya was always just the better one. riku didnt mind though, since he only was in it for the fun. tatsuya did brag about winning all the time, but thats just who he was.

          he stopped running for a second to catch his breath, but at some point, between his shoelace and running past the town park he tripped and fell into a puddle. the water splashed all over his coat and legs. he landed on his bare knees, scraping them. letting out a yelp of pain, as he went down he managed to grip onto tatsuyas back. tatsuya fell back on his ass along with riku.

          "ow! what the fuck!" tatsuya shouted as he landed beside riku in the puddle. the water somehow made its way up to rikus face, as it soaked his eye patch. "what the hell, riku? what is wrong with you?" 

          "sorry, suya..." riku sat up and rubbed his wet forehead. 

         "now were gonna be late because of you! fucking freak!" tatsuya clentched his fist and aimed it back at rikus face. this was something he did a lot. tatsuya was very scared of being late. but, just as he let go og the grip on his wrist to punch his brother, he heard a sound behind him. it sounded like a weep or a cry. he paused his fist mid punch and turned around towards the sound. "do you here that, twerp? it sounds like someone crying. i dont mind being late if it means you get to find a little animal bud thats hurt."

         rikus face lit up into a large smile. "what? an animal? whats that sound?" he perked his head up and shot it towards the sound. he wiped his wet bangs out of his face and stood up. "follow me!" 

         tatsuya jumped up to his feet and slipped his hand into rikus. "fine. but, if we get hurt im blaming you."

         "wh- what? but this was your idea, suya!?" riku shot a look at him. tatsuya let out a suppressed giggle from his lips.

       as they walked towards the cry, tatsuya picked at his braces. riku rubbed his eyes and blinked. "look, suya! look!" he extended a finger and pointed towards a small bush area. a gap in the trees had a weeping sound coming from it. he let go of his brothers hand and crawled through the bush.

        what sat inside wasnt what he was expecting. he was expecting a small hurt kitten or injured fawn. but no, this was something else. "suya... look..." he breathed mindlessly as he stared at the ball. there was a puff of curly red hair coming from two knees. there was a boy! a boy was sitting beyond them crying! he was curled up in a ball and his face was stuffed in between his knees. "suya!"
         the boy lifted his head up quickly. his face was stained with tears and his bangs were flattened out by water. his skin was dark, was quite pale for someone that dark. he didnt say anything when they saw him, but instead he just looked at them like he was shocked to see another human. 

         "riku... its just a kid crying?" tatsuya shrugged it off. "okay, now that its not an animal, im dipping. i am not about to be late to school because a random kid in a bush was crying?" he stepped out of the bush, but before he could riku grabbed the collar of his shirt and grabbed him back. riku crawled over to the boy quietly and reached out to touch him. the boy jerked away and sat up against a tree trunk.

        "i wont hurt you, okay? my name is riku! whats yours?" 

         the boy looked shocked. like someone hadnt talked to him in years. "im- im keiji!" his face lit up into a gentle smile. "keiji! thats my name. keiji itsuki. i go to school here."

        riku looked around at the area. it was just a patch of grass inside of some trees. "hi, keiji! how old are you?" riku asked as tatsuya sat behind him.

         "im..." keiji hesitated. "im eleven."

           "suya and i are thirteen! were big kids, right, suya?-" riku looked at tatsuya behind him, who was nodding - "anyway, this is suya! his real name is tatsuya, so call him that, okay?" 

         keiji nodded and wiped away the tears pouring out from his eyes. "why were you crying?" tatsuya put his chin on rikus shoulder to look at the red haired boy.

         "um... i cant find my mom. or dad. or brother." he rested his head onto his knees. riku looked at tatsuya then back at keiji.

         "want us to help you find her?" he asked, smiling nervously. keiji nodded his head very slowly, his hair flopping along with his head.