"Tsurugi."

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind... if I take that to her in your place?"

"... Why?"

"I need to talk to her... Don't give me that look."

"Kyousuke."

"Nii-san?"

"Let him. They need to work things out sooner or later."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Fine."

That was how he found himself returning to the pantry with his brother, instead of taking the breakfast up to his friend like he said he would. He hoped she wouldn't throw a fit about it when he goes back.

As they grabbed their respective trays and sat at a table in a quiet corner, the older brother broke the silence. "So, how was she yesterday?"

"Doing a lot better." He shrugged. "She still needs wheels to get around, but her fever's gone and she isn't coughing anymore."

"I guess we can take that as a sign that her immune system isn't fighting itself anymore."

"Yeah, but the aftereffects of the penguins are still there."

"Luckily, she should be alright in just a week or two. That is, if she rests well."

"I'll make sure she does."

His brother let out a small laugh. They continued their breakfast in a comfortable silence, listening to the bustle of the people around them instead. Some noise came from the kitchen, with chefs ordering one another to continue filling up the trays. Some came from other tables, with coworkers chatting about work or simply gossiping. And...

From the corner of his eye, he spotted another table not too far from them getting taken by faces he knew well. Seeing as they didn't greet them, it was either they didn't notice their presence or they were purposely ignoring them.

The latter seemed more likely. After all, it was hard to believe that two tall, blue, spiky haired people (one in a tracksuit and the other in casual wear) wouldn't be recognizable in a sea of suits and lab coats.

His brother seemed to notice them too with how his expression changed. However, it didn't turn into his usual bright smile. Instead, it was crooked, awkward and almost painful.

"Nii-san?"

"Right... I guess it's my turn to tell you what happened yesterday?"

"Judging from the way the others are just casting glances at us... I suppose it wasn't that great?"

"Way worse than you could imagine." His brother sighed, his smile completely dissolving. "After seeing how she ran to you that day, we decided to see other stuff about you both."

... He didn't like the sound of that. "Such as?"

"How we first met her, the accident with my legs, that school festival you invited her to..."

Please let that be it. He was mentally begging for it a million times a second.

"... And some Fifth Sector stuff."

"Fuck." He bit his lip when he realized that it came through his lips.

"Kyousuke..."

"Sorry."

His brother shook his head. "You don't have to apologize for that... Nor do you have to about that whole ordeal anymore. You made things right when you joined Raimon for real in the Teikoku match."

"I know, but still..." Tapping his spoon on his now-empty plate, he kept his gaze down as he mustered the courage to ask further. "How much of it did you see? About me and Fifth, that is..."

"We first saw how that person recruited you."

"Kuroki-san, huh..."

"I don't remember his name, but his face is suspicious from the get-go."

"Yeah, I guess. Most of my training was under him, but I genuinely don't know anything aside his name and that he's one of the most loyal people to the Holy Emperor."

"So... To Gouenji-san?"

"..."

"..."

"I want to say 'no', but that would contradict what I just said, huh..."

"He's an amazing soccer player, but with all this stuff plus Kimiko..."

"Even if he did everything to return soccer to the free one we have now..."

"It's getting harder to ignore..." His brother sighed again. "So if anyone would know where he is, it's probably Gouenji-san."

That made him blink. "You want to look for him? Why?"

"If Zanark can do things for Kimiko, I don't see why I can't do things for you."

"Huh?"

"You'll understand when you're older, Kyousuke."

That was one 'reasoning' that he had never used on him before. It made him skeptical, but in the end, all he could do was nod. That seemed to be the right answer as his brother's eyes turned soft with gratefulness.

(That honestly made him feel even more suspicious, but he knew better than to question his brother on something he really didn't seem to want to talk about.)

"Also..." His brother suddenly continued, pulling him out of his thoughts. "We... The last memory we saw was..."

Seeing him purse his lips made something in his gut churn. How bad was it that it's making him hesitate now?

"Your training..."

Oh...

"When you... called out Lancelot for the first time."

"Oh."

"..."

"..."

"... That's all you have to say?"

"... I didn't know how to word it, so I just..."

He knew that he'd told his brother and his parents about having to go through rigorous training to get stronger, but he had never told them the details of it. Nor its true intensity.

And frankly, the one they saw could be considered tame in Fifth's standards.

His brother's hand immediately found his, giving it a warm squeeze. Brown pupils narrowed with a mixture of pain and... Is that disappointment?

...

Just looking at it hurt.

"Kyousuke... How much did they put you through?"

"Nii-san, to be fair, I put myself through it―"

"Answer the question, Kyousuke." His tone wasn't any louder, but it was much more firm. The grip on his hand remained as warm as always, though he could feel it trembling ever so slightly.

And under that gaze, he could only give in. "Lancelot... was nothing. Those cannons... All the physical stuff is nothing, really―"

"Kyou―"

For once, he didn't let him interrupt. "It's all nothing compared to the way they drain you mentally. Fifth's main card was always blackmail, disguised as a reward system. They know exactly what every player under them wants, using that to get them to push themselves to the limit... And when that doesn't work..."

The threats start.

It took everything he's got to squeeze the words out of his mouth. He didn't have anything left to make him see what kind of expression his brother was making, but as he was no longer trying to say anything, he decided to continue, his tone getting lower and lower with each sentence.

"New people were brought in every week or two, but someone left every day... Sometimes it's because they have a mission assigned to them... But mostly, it's because... they don't have the strength left to go on..."

"... The island..."

"We didn't know who'd be next, so everyone kept each other at arm's length. Hakuryuu and I didn't really become friends until after I went there the second time with Raimon... But that first time..."

"... You were there for barely a month, right?"

"Mmhm... So you could imagine, I guess... If a month turned me into that... Everyone else, who spent much longer there..."

"And that's only counting those that made it out of there with their sanity intact."

'Intact'? As if. He wanted to retort, especially with memories of his first few weeks of school disgustingly clear in his head, but he swallowed it down.

(He was learning to forgive, but he will never forget.)

"Kyousuke."

"Y-Yeah?" He wanted to slap himself.

Or for someone else to do it. It'd hurt more.

"I told you before that I'm not worried about you anymore, right?"

That wasn't where he thought this was going. "Yeah...?"

"I'm not going back on that. I trust you, that hasn't changed."

"Nii-san..."

"So I hope that... You'll trust me too someday."

His head snapped up at that. "I do―" He stopped short when he saw his brother's expression.

No disappointment, no anger, no fear. Not even a trace of disappointment or signs of being upset. Just a small, soft smile. "If anything happens, no matter how serious or stupid, I hope that your first thought will be to tell me all about it. You never have to be afraid of losing my love for you, understand?"

!!!

He felt his jaw dropping, and with it, any weight and burden that had stacked themselves on his back throughout the past seven years.

(The monster that stole his brother's dreams, the demon that came close to destroying a certain soccer club, the selfish asshole that nearly got his best friend killed...)

For a second, he forgot how to breathe.

After scrambling his brain for any words to say― Agreement or not was beyond him― what managed to come out was an extremely weak, little "Why...?"

(Shouldn't broken things be fixed before they are deserving of affection again?)

"Because..." The man before him spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, his smile only growing brighter. "You're my brother. What other reason do I need?"

~~~~~

"Idiots."

In the forest, not too far from the cabin's remains, a certain bike was parked with its timeline-viewing system switched on. Two screens popped out, one showing two blondes sharing a hug after a much-needed conversation, while the other had two navy haired boys with much less emotional baggage than before.

The green haired boy only shook his head as both screens focused on the younger ones of both pairs.

Both broken nearly beyond repair, and yet, look perfect in each other's eyes. Neither of them felt deserving, and yet, they would give the other the world within a heartbeat if they asked.

Both screens combined and showed a scene from the previous evening, where the two seemed to have finally laid their feelings bare and met eye-to-eye.

(Lip-to-lip too.)

"Just total idiots."