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Choso could barely contain the urge to grin like an idiot. It felt like his insides were vibrating, unable to keep his emotions at bay.
Like so many times before, there was a spring in his steps as he made his way down the familiar road. This was, after all, his favorite time of the day; pick-up time.
Other teenagers might want to hit up the arcade, exhaust themselves at karaoke, or kill time at the mall, but Choso couldn’t care less about that.
He had something more important to do.
Because ever since dropping Yuuji off at school this morning, he had been longing to come pick him up again.
He could feel a smile stretch across his face as the school building finally came into view. There was no way to hold it back. The fragrance of spring filled him as he took a deep breath and quickened his pace, feeling his body tingling with every step.
It wasn't long now.
Passing the school gates, he was met by a hoard of kids, milling out of the entrance like animals released from their confides. His gaze scanned from left to right in search of a familiar mop of pink hair. Every other kid looked the same to him but he was confident he could spot Yuuji in any crowd, even without his crazy hair color.
With brisk steps, Choso approached the stairs and tried to weave his way through the flock of children when he suddenly froze.
His eyes widened in realization as his gaze landed on the entrance before him.
Crap.
His feet came to a halt mid-step, head whipped back to stare at the school gate as his grave mistake dawned on him.
Another swift motion had him searching the entrance again, guilt washing over him as he scanned the area for his brother.
No Yuuji.
Good. He hadn't been caught.
Slowly, he backtracked his unfinished step before turning to jog out of the school gates.
He had made a promise after all.
Breathing a sigh of relief he leaned back against the iron fence, feeling its cool bars press on his back. In an attempt to look as if he wasn’t buzzing with anticipation on the inside, he crossed his arms over his chest.
With his full attention on the gates, he kept searching for his precious brother in the sea of people exiting them.
Still no sight of him.
He strained his ears as well but could not hear the sound of his tale-tell sweet voice. Just the loud chatter of the students and the rustling of the leaves above.
The gigantic clock on the school building told him Yuuji should’ve finished classes five minutes ago.
Soon.
Soon he would finally see that toothy grin he’d been missing all day, hear his chirpy voice as he chatted away about everything and nothing. And soon he could spoil his brother with his undivided attention.
His index finger tapped against his bicep.
It wasn’t unusual for Yuuji to linger in the classroom with his friends. There was also the whole procedure of packing his bag, changing shoes, maybe even a trip to the bathroom.
As the hoard of children became less and less compact, Choso’s frown became more and more intense, until—
“I saw you, Choso” came a small but firm voice from behind.
Choso whirled just in time to see Yuuji climb the fence. He flailed his arms ready to catch him but Yuuji landed safe and sound on the ground.
“It’s not like I was hiding,” his distressed expression relaxed into a soft smile. “And call me onii-chan.”
Finally.
Seeing Yuuji made him feel at ease. As if something had been missing until his little brother came to give his life a purpose.
“I don't—Oh.” Yuuji’s eyes lit up as something by the gates caught his attention. “Noba-chan, Megumi-kun! Bye bye!” Grinning from ear to ear, he waved his friends off before shifting his focus back to Choso with a knowing look. “I didn’t mean here.”
Choso felt his breath catch in his throat. His earlier smile fell as his lips parted in surprise.
“In there,” his brother nodded his head toward the school grounds.
“Huh? But—” his eyes shifted between Yuuji and the school.
How could Yuuji have seen him?
Oh…right. The second-floor window.
They had switched seats in the classroom recently and Yuuji was now next to the window overlooking the front of the school.
“I—I, I just forgot,” Choso admitted, bowing his head in regret. “I’m sorry.”
“I know,” Yuuji’s light laugh caught Choso’s attention. “I’m just messing with ya!”
Choso’s dark eyes sparkled to life again. “So, I can meet you at the entrance tomorrow?”
“Noo,” his little brother smacked him on the arm. “You stand out too much, remember?”
Glancing down at his wrinkled high school uniform he knew Yuuji was right. Third years didn’t usually come to the elementary school. The twintails and black stripe tattoo across the bridge of his nose didn’t help the matter either.
Maybe if he changed his looks a bit his little brother wouldn’t be so troubled when he came to pick him up. A good concealer could cover up the tattoo and should he get a haircut?
“What if—”
“No. I’m already eight. I can walk home by myself, all my friends are doing it.”
“I know you can, but—”
“Because,” Yuuji cut him off, “this is important to you, I agreed if you would wait by the gate. Otherwise, it’s embarrassing.”
His shoulders dropped. “I know. I’m sorry.”
The last thing Choso wanted was to embarrass his little brother. At least it wasn’t his looks that was the problem. He was very much aware of his overprotective nature but could anyone blame him? Apart from his good-for-nothing uncle, Choso was all the family Yuuji had left.
“It’s okay, but remember it tomorrow,” there was another punch to his arm before a tiny hand wrapped around his own. “Now, let’s go. I’m hungry.”
“Y-Yeah, sure,” Choso sniffled, looking away.
“Are you crying?”
“N–No,” he rubbed his face with his free arm.
“Mhm,” Yuuji hummed, unconvinced while swinging their arms between them. “So, what’s for dinner?”
“Whatever you want.”
“Spaghetti?”
“Of course,” he squeezed the small hand, amazed at how it was so much warmer than the sun on his back.
“Yaay!”
“We need to stop by the supermarket then.”
“Oh,” Yuuji perked up. “Can I have this week's Jump then?”
A soft chuckle escaped his lips. Like he could ever deny his little brother anything. “Yeah. And lemme read it after.”
“Sure!”
“And please, don’t spoil “hero aka” like you did last time.”
“How was I supposed to know you hadn’t read it yet?”
“‘Cause,” Choso poked a finger to Yuuji’s soft cheek, “you hadn’t even finished it yourself.”
“So?”
“So,” Choso clarified. “You know I don’t read it until I know you’re done with it.”
Yuuji huffed. “You could’ve borrowed it from a friend.”
“I don’t have friends.”
“You have Yuki, though.”
“She doesn’t read Jump.”
“Eeh?”
“I know,” Choso nodded.
As much as he adored his girlfriend, it was beyond his comprehension how she didn’t keep up with the adventures of the Jump characters. Especially with the way things were going right now in the most popular serializations. There were even rumors that Hunter x Hunter would return.
“What does she do then?”
Stroking his chin, Choso looked back at his time spent with Yuki.
“She likes fashion magazines, or anything motorcycle related.”
Without a second to waste Yuuji asked his most frequently asked question, “When can I ride with her?”
“When you’re older,” came Choso’s most frequently used answer.
“And when’s that? When I’m 9?”
“Eh…”
Probably never, Choso thought to himself.
“We’ll see,” he replied. He knew that if he set a specific age Yuuji would fixate on that and this was not a question about age. This was about maturity. That, and the fact that Choso was terrified about letting Yuuji ride a death trap like that, and there was a high chance he would never outgrow that fear.
“Stingy,” Yuuji huffed.
“Sorry.”
Oh, how Choso hated disappointing his brother but when it came between that and risking his life, he would take any insult thrown in his way.
“Anyway, how was school today?”
The supermarket was just a few minutes on foot from the school, and with Yuuji telling him all about how the P.E. teacher fell on his face during class or the lunch he had with Megumi and Nobara, the walk was a pleasant one.
“Thanks for the ice cream, Choso,” Yuuji bit into his vanilla cone as they exited the store.
The sun was resting on the horizon, painting the sky in a soft, orange pink. Pink really was such a beautiful color, it never failed to warm his heart.
“Please. Can’t you call me onii-chan?” It came out as more of a whine than he had intended.
“Nope,” Yuuji took another bite and if Choso wasn’t so busy being shocked by his brother’s blunt refusal, he would’ve questioned what kinda child bites an ice cream.
“Why not?!”
“Dun wanna.”
He paled. It was as if something cold washed over him as all blood drained from his face. He stumbled a step.
“Y—You always used to do it.”
“Yeah, but then I grew up.”
“Growing older is no reason to just stop,” Choso didn’t care if he was pouting at this point.
“But it’s lame.”
He almost dropped the bag of groceries he was holding. “What?!”
Was this how it felt to have your “big brother”-heart ripped apart? Did all older siblings experience this kind of pain as their younger siblings grew up?
“Yeah, makes me sound like a kid.”
“You are a kid!”
“I’m eight!”
With his free hand, Choso gestured to the entirety of Yuuji’s small stature. “Ergo; a kid.”
The response he received was a scowl, although his features were softened by the stains of ice cream around his mouth.
A wave of affection washed over him and Choso couldn’t help the small smile tugging at his lips.
Yuuji was definitely still a child but he had the resolve of someone more mature than himself if he really put his mind to it.
From his pocket, Choso pulled out a handkerchief only for Yuuji to step aside and wipe himself on his sleeve before glancing back at Choso with pursed lips.
“Stop treating me like a baby,” he muttered.
“Fine, fine.” The napkin was stuffed back into his pocket. Never mind that there was still a spot left on the tip of Yuuji’s nose. “But no matter how old you are, you'll always be my baby brother, you know?” He ruffled his hair, locks soft against his hand..
“Alrighty then,” Yuuji skipped a few steps ahead, turning to Choso with a smug smile. “No matter if I say it or not, you’ll always be my onii-chan.” And with that, he stuck his tongue out before he took off down the road, cackling as he ran.
If there was a beautiful sunset, with a golden sky and clouds burning pink that evening, Choso did not see it.
He did, however, see his own sun, albeit slightly blurry through the tears in his eyes, beaming in his direction with a blinding smile.
“Hurry up,” he called, shoving the last of his ice cream cone into his mouth, “I’m still starving! Onii-chan.”
The tears wouldn’t stop coming even with Choso squeezing his eyes shut. He could feel them trickling down his cheeks, growing cold in the evening wind.
Even though he couldn’t see anything, he knew Yuuji was shining brightly just up ahead. He could clearly hear his laughter echoing down the street. Clenching his hand, he could still feel the lingering heat from Yuuji’s hand in his.
He knew Yuuji would be alright.
Because Choso would always be there with him.
And so, with one slow, deep breath, Choso opened his eyes.
Now it was all clear to him.
Yuuji waiting with his hand outstretched.
Choso moved forward, reaching for the warmth of the sun.