Of bratty demons and mushroom heads

CHAPTER 17

After three days, Hiyoshi had finally started recovering from being sick. Akaya had been playing dysfunctional nurse, and as well-meant as it was, it hurt his pride to be taken care of so attentively by his boyfriend. He felt a bit guilty since he may possibly have been the worst patient ever, but he couldn’t help it. Coming back to his room from Kendo practice, he felt completely wiped out. Despite knowing that going to practice might not have been the best idea, he’d gone anyway to prove to himself he could. He had not gone to spite his boyfriend, really. When he walked into his room, he was faced with a very unexpected scene and narrowed his eyes.

Akaya checked his cell phone again as he strolled toward his boyfriend’s room. If his calculations were correct (in other words, if he remembered right), Hiyoshi should be done with Kendo and back in his room. He would have tried to stop him from going, but he knew the other man would kill him, so he'd let him.

As always, he just walked into his boyfriend’s room, but he hadn't made it two feet before he froze in his tracks and blinked in confusion. Before him was someone who was undoubtedly Hiyoshi, pinned to the floor by someone who looked like an older Hiyoshi. He stepped back slowly and closed the door, earning an odd look from Sanada who happened to be passing by on his way back from Kendo.

The older man raised an eyebrow but decided he really didn't want to know and prayed that maybe if he didn't make eye contact, Akaya wouldn't talk to him. Unfortunately, that never seemed to work.

"Fukubuchou! I think I just saw Wakashi getting raped by Wakashi from the future!!" Akaya said in a mild panic.

Yes, the ex-fukubuchou definitely didn't want to know. He walked away as fast as he could without breaking into a full run, because Sanada Genichirou didn't run away from anything, even weird people from the future.

Akaya looked back at the door apprehensively as his vice captain disappeared around the corner. He had to face the pervert from the future, for Hiyoshi. That's what good boyfriends would do. He opened the door slowly and stepped inside, "Uh... Wakashi?"

“Damn it! Get off!” Hiyoshi yelled up at his attacker. He was firmly pinned down and knew very well that he wasn’t going anywhere until the other man let him. He had come home to his older brother in his room unpacking a suitcase. This immediately sent events in motion that led to a brawl which led to Hiyoshi in his current predicament.

“It’s only for a few days little brother. You won’t even notice I’m here.” Hiyoshi Kazuya smiled down at him in a way they both knew meant Kazuya already knew he won. Then he noticed Akaya standing in the doorway. Letting go of Hiyoshi, he stood up and brushed himself off. Kazuya and Wakashi did indeed look very similar. Kazuya stood a couple inches taller and had broader shoulders, making Wakashi look small next to him. Kazuya’s face was also a bit squarer, and instead of Wakashi’s naturally serious composure, Kazuya had a classic business man’s smile that said he could make you believe anything he wanted.

Hiyoshi slowly got up off the floor, brushing himself off with a small growl. He had really hoped Kazuya and Akaya wouldn’t meet anytime this century, apparently his hopes had been for not. He was about to tell Kazuya to leave again when his mouth was promptly covered, shushing him before he could even get a word out.

“Hello, you must be a friend of Wakashi’s. I didn’t know he had any of those. I’m his older and much more socially skilled brother, Hiyoshi Kazuya. Pleasure to meet you.” He bowed politely as his smile grew when he heard his brother’s mumbled curses under his hand.

Akaya blinked at the scene before him and found himself bowing in response before he realized what was going on. "His brother..." Akaya repeated, the man had a smile like Yanagi and it made him a bit uncomfortable, but at least he wasn't an alien from the future. "He doesn't talk about you... like ever," he said flatly and honestly, "but I'm Kirihara Akaya, it's nice to meet you."

Kazuya mock frowned at his brother, “You never mentioned me? I didn’t realize I was so unimportant in your life, Wakashi.”

Hiyoshi rolled his eyes and threw his brothers hand off. “Akaya, don’t pay any attention to him. He’s leaving now any-“ His body shook as he let out a huge string of coughs. Damn it, this wasn’t the time. Maybe he shouldn’t have gone to Kendo after all.

Damn it. He shouldn't have let Wakashi go to kendo. Akaya automatically handed Hiyoshi his bottle of water and frowned. "You ok?" he asked quietly. He wanted to rub his boyfriend’s back but he knew the other man would be mad at him for doing it in front of his brother.

“I’m fine.” Hiyoshi gratefully accepted the water from his boyfriend and gave him a small smile for not doing anything in front of his brother.

Kazuya’s frown turned real as he saw his brother coughing, but did not miss the exchange between the two younger boys. “Did you catch that from me last weekend? Sorry little brother, you should have said so earlier.” He patted Hiyoshi’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Onii-chan will take care good of you.” He turned towards the other boy whom Wakashi was on a first name basis with, interesting. “Thank you, Kirihara-kun. I can take it from here.” He gave the boy a nod signaling to him that it was okay for him to leave.

Akaya glared at the older man. They were about the same size and could look eye to eye easily. "It's your fault he's sick in the first place," he growled quietly, not at all happy to be brushed off that easily.

Not waiting to see what his brother would say, Hiyoshi cut in, “I don’t need anyone to take care of me! I’m almost over it anyway. I’m just tired from Kendo.” He coughed again, feeling the need to sit down. Stupid brother and boyfriend stressing him out.

Kazuya sighed and rubbed at his temples, the act very similar to another Hiyoshi. “You went to Kendo like that? Seriously, sometimes you remind me of dad so much, it’s painful. Time to wash up and go to bed. I’ll make some tea while you’re in the shower.”

Hiyoshi did not appreciate the comparison to their father. “You’re the one who should be leaving. I don’t remember ever saying it was okay for you to stay with me. Go back to the dojo if you need somewhere to stay.” Although the tea did sound good and… his brother was giving him that face. The ‘do what I say or bad things will happen to you’ face. “Akaya—“

“Kirihara-kun! Would you like to stay and help me? I’ll show you how to make Wakashi’s favorite tea!” He interrupted his brother and faced Akaya with that business man’s smile again. Kirihara-kun intrigued him and after the outburst earlier, he was looking forward to finding out just how close the younger boy was to his brother.

It was a lost cause. Looking between the two of them, Hiyoshi gave in. “Fine. Whatever.” he grumped, picking up his towel and marching out of the room. If his brother wanted to play housewife for two or three days in his room, he didn’t care. He’d go stay with Akaya or something. It didn’t hit him that it might not be such a good idea to leave the two of them alone together until after he’d entered the shower.

Akaya blinked at the older Hiyoshi’s change in attitude and the creepy Yanagi-senpai smile. It still made him uneasy and caused him to back away a little, but he stayed. When his boyfriend left the room, he turned his attention back to Kazuya. He kept his mouth shut, waiting to see what the man really wanted.

Once his brother was gone, Kazuya went to look through Wakashi’s small drawers to see where he stored his tea. “So, how long have you known my brother, Kirihara-kun? It surprised me that you’re on a first name basis with him yet I’ve never heard of you.” It shocked him, to be more precise. Wakashi had always been the private type and it was extremely out of character for him.

"Since the beginning of the school year," Akaya answered with a little frown and sat down on Wakashi’s bed, his green eyes on Kazuya. "It's over there," he said pointing to a little jar on top of the dresser, "We played tennis together in junior high though."

Kazuya’s curiosity of the other boy heightened at the boy’s apparent knowledge of his brother’s room. Taking out the gold leaf green tea bag, he inquired next, “Do you happen to know if Wakashi has a mug he keeps in the room?”

"Yeah, it's on the desk. I washed it earlier," Akaya answered simply and watched the other man in mild amusement. He knew Hiyoshi’s room better than his own (mostly because it was more organized than his own) and he couldn't help but be proud that he knew it better than his boyfriend’s brother.

Grabbing the mug off the desk, Kazuya was slightly taken back by answer. He figured it best to just get right to the point. He was naturally an easy-going person, but when it came to his younger brother, he was always serious. “You haven’t known him that well for very long, but you wash his dishes. I hope I’m not being too forward in asking, but how close would you say you are to my brother?”

Kazuya had been the original inheritor of the family dojo, but had given it up in favor of pursuing a career in business. His father had not taken his decision well, but after Wakashi had agreed to inherit, the issues between him and his family had smoothed out. The brothers had always been close, and though they hadn’t spoken as often since Wakashi had left for college, he had heard their parents talking about the change in him since he’d left. Maybe this boy was the cause of it?

It was tempting to tell the truth, Akaya wasn't ashamed of it at all, but he knew it would make Hiyoshi upset and get him in trouble, so he told the truth and left a bit out. "He's my best friend."

Kazuya smiled at him, a true smile. That had been the right answer. “That’s good. I’m glad he’s finally making new friends.” However, he knew that no one looked at their best friend the way Kirihara-kun had looked earlier at his brother, nor would he do the other’s dishes. It seemed to him that Kirihara-kun had a crush, and his brother was too innocent to notice. “Just a friendly warning though, I wouldn’t allow myself to become overly attached to Wakashi if I were you.” It was his polite way of telling the other boy to let it go.

Akaya raised an eyebrow and looked at Kazuya like he was crazy. It wasn't a hard look to pull off because he was fairly certain the older man was indeed crazy. "What do you mean?" he asked, humoring him.

Kazuya laughed out loud at the look he was given. “Don’t take it so seriously Kirihara-kun. I’m just an older brother watching out for my naïve sibling. Of course, I am in no position to tell you what to do. My family has been concerned recently that Wakashi is losing sight of his priorities. Not that I wouldn’t support him in whatever he chooses, but the last thing he needs right now is more stress. I hope you will continue to be a good friend to him and support him.”

"Uh... yeah... sure," Akaya nodded and frowned a little. He was definitely going to have to talk to Wakashi about that guy later. He was too sharp for his own good.

Hiyoshi chose that moment to walk back into the room, towel around his waist and his hair dripping wet. He’d hurried back from his shower after he realized his error of leaving the two of them alone. Before he could get a word out, Kazuya had already started talking. “That was quick. I just barely had time to make your tea.”

Looking around the room and at the two of them, Hiyoshi was happy to see the place was still in one piece and no one looked angry or upset. With a relieved sigh, he made his way to the closet to change. He had decided to let his brother stay, but that didn’t mean he was going to go two or three days without Akaya because of it. “Aniki, if you must stay then fine. I’ll go stay at Akaya’s while you’re here. He’s never in his own room anyway.” He didn’t need to tell him that the reason Akaya was never in his own room was because he was with him. He looked over at Akaya for approval.

Smiling, Akaya nodded. "Yeah, that's fine," he said coolly, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice. He was glad he wasn't going to get ignored just because Hiyoshi’s brother was here. Maybe after Wakashi was feeling a little better they could even sleep together like they'd said they would.

“You don’t need to be like that Wakashi! We never get to see each other anymore and you know I don’t mind the floor. Kirihara-kun and I became better acquainted while you were in the shower, and I must say you’ve done a good job of picking out your friends if they’re willing to do your dishes for you, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t spend time with your big brother.”

At that, Hiyoshi felt a bit guilty. He hadn’t spent any time with his brother, and it wouldn’t be right to ignore him in favor of Akaya when he saw his boyfriend every day. Wait, how did his brother know that Akaya did his dishes?

“Plus, you’re still sick. As your big brother, I should be the one to take care of you. It wouldn’t be polite to impose on a friend like that.” He could tell by Wakashi’s facial expression that he was starting to win him over. “Here’s your tea by the way.” He handed him the tea, bitter, no sugar.

At Kazuya’s words, Akaya frowned. He wanted to argue but he knew he shouldn't. He didn't want to make Hiyoshi mad. It was funny how most of his life revolved around that want now, "It's up to you Wakashi."

Hiyoshi glared at both of them. Why were they putting him in this position? Couldn’t they see he wasn’t feeling well and all he wanted to do was to be left alone? Okay… and maybe be cuddled by Akaya a bit… damn it. He shook his head. Giving Akaya an apologetic glance, he gave in to his older brother. “Fine, I’ll stay here, but it better only be for two or three days at the most.”

“Pinky promise.” Kazuya held out his pinky and mock waved it back and forth knowing his brother wouldn’t take it, glad he’d won. Family always came first after all.

Hiyoshi smirked and shook his head at his brother’s ridiculous behavior, before turning back to Akaya. “Thanks for coming by. I’ll see you later?”

Akaya stood and let his bangs cover his eyes for a moment before looking up with a smile that would look genuine to anyone who didn't know him. But, to those who did, they would be able to tell immediately how hard he was trying to hide his emotions. His chest hurt and what he wanted more than anything was to be out of that room. He didn't understand why Hiyoshi would choose his brother over him when he would drop his sister immediately to be with his boyfriend. He and his sister had never really gotten along and would usually do anything to stay away from each other. "Yeah... later," he said chipperly and walked out, without another word.