The question hung heavy in the air. What happened to you? With it came all the implied questions. Why are you so cruel to everyone you meet? What scary thought made you ghost me? Why did you pretend that you'd forgotten me? Why did you leave me?

Of course, evasion was Keiji's natural inclination. "Come on. You got what you wanted. We're close again. To be frank, I'm closer to you than I've ever been to anyone. Do we have to dig up the past like this?" His words were quiet; he'd taken to scratching at the floor.

"Yes." It was instant, and clear, and unwavering.

"Why?"

"Because we're stuck in it. If we dig it up, maybe we can finally start climbing out. Right now, I'm still stuck in third grade with Miss Inoue. And you're still... somewhere scary I don't know about. That's obvious, considering the trivia show incident... After I changed schools, I called your house so many times, and you never picked up. I literally forced myself back into your life even though I knew that nothing would be the same again. I just— you saved me, Keiji. You were so cool, and brave, and competent. You were everything I wasn't. You were everything I wanted to be. But then I finally see you again, and everyone's calling you 'that cocky bastard,' and you're shouting at me in the library to stay away so that you wouldn't ruin my happiness. What happened?!"

Keiji couldn't make himself look at Haruto. He traced shapes on the ground. "It's... complicated. And the worst part is, it all sounds so stupid now. Everything I did and said to push people away, it doesn't even seem worth it anymore. No excuse I could give you would be worth a damn."

"Do it anyway!" For the first time since Keiji had entered the room, Haruto shouted.

"...I really like your parents. They're successful, but they're also really kind."

"Stop trying to dodge the question."

"I'm not. I just... need to find a way to explain." He took to fiddling with his hands, amusedly realizing that, for once, he was the fidgety one. "Back when we knew each other the first time, there was this girl I liked. I don't even remember her name now... shit, that's embarrassing. Point is, though, just like I apparently inspired you, you inspired me. If you could tell your parents about something awful and heart wrenching that you were experiencing, I could tell my parents about a stupid little crush. It... didn't go great. I think I already knew how they were gonna feel about it."

"What did they do? Did they hurt you?"

"Huh? Um, no, not like you're probably assuming. They're not like that woman. It basically chalks up to 'don't let yourself get distracted from your studies. You could be doing so much better with your time.' And something clicked in my head that day."

"What was it?"

"You already know that I want to break a world record. It's been my dream since forever. But even beyond that, I want to do something completely world-changing. If I make history, then I can't ever be forgotten or replaced. I'll actually be special." He closed his eyes and sighed. "I wanted to be great. And that day, I made a decision: if I wanted to be great, I had to give up on being good. Because the good people, the ones who put everyone else's well being above their own... they sacrifice their time and resources and mental energy, and they rarely ever have enough left to change the world. I decided to hoard all of that for myself. If I made everyone around me hate me, I could dedicate my life to becoming the best."

He finally made himself look at this person whose trust he'd betrayed. Haruto's eyebrows were pinched in with concern. The words kept flowing. "And soon, that sort of became the expectation— people knew I was a jackass. So, like I do with everything else in my life, I swore to be number one at that. I would be the greatest jackass anyone had ever seen. And as time passed, it became easier and easier to act like that. And harder and harder to be someone I could actually be proud of."

The words were flooding out of him like a burst dam at this point. "When I saw you again, I got really upset. First of all, it made me feel like total shit, cause I knew I wasn't the person you'd want me to be. But it also made me angry. Because, honestly? I'm really, really jealous of you. I think that's why I was getting mad at you today when you wanted to leave school early. You're not like me. You're the proof that I was wrong. That someone can be great AND good. Art comes so naturally to you, and you're so passionate about it, and you're gonna change the world, and you're a reminder of who I could've been if I'd just been less stupid! So... so fucking dumb, right?! All of this because my parents didn't approve of my baby-crush?!"

Instantly, Bisque had him grappled in an earth-shattering hug. "Keiji... I'm so, so sorry! I thought I knew you back then, but there was so much going on that I couldn't understand! It's not dumb at all."

Keiji hung limp in his arms, sniffling. After all of that, why were the words, "I'm lonely," so hard to express? So he pivoted. "I hate how much I love your RPG. Sometimes I want to play it instead of study, and that means something matters to me that isn't my goal. I don't know what I want anymore."

"It's great, right?" Both boys giggled in spite of their emotions being raw. Bisque held him for ages, then at last pulled away. "Stay right here." All that Keiji could do was obey. Since meeting Bisque again, he'd been pulling at the knot in his heart and unraveling it. He felt far more honest than before. But also far more small.

When Haruto returned, it was with his parents in tow. Keiji gasped, backing away. "Why did you—?!"

"Mom. Dad. Can I share you with him? Can you be his parents, too?"

"What?" he could hardly whisper.

"What do you mean, dear? Like, adopt him?" Arata asked, stark still and eyes wide.

"Nothing like that. It's just... I don't think his parents are proud of him. And he's been trying for so long. I have such good ones, and you already love him, too, so I just thought..."

"Stop. Stop, this is making me sound so needy!" A panic was bubbling up inside him. He felt hot and sweaty.

Now it was Himari's turn to hug him. "Baby, it's not wrong to need someone to care. We're so proud of you."

Arata sandwiched him in from the other side shortly thereafter. "You were a miracle to our family. Of course you're welcome to be a part of it."

"E-Even if I'm not a good person?"

Haruto joined the hug, completing the family. "Hey. You're gonna find your way. You always do. You know, you saved me for a second time today. And even when you don't think so, you're always looking out for me."

Keiji shuddered. Before even realizing it, he'd dug his nails into Himari's back. He heaved and sobbed, releasing the last burden. "I'm so lonely!"

Himari's breaths trembled. "Never again, baby. Never again."

"I don't deserve this! You know I don't deserve this! I haven't earned it! I've done nothing but bring you guys pain since I came back into your lives! Shouldn't I have to prove myself for this?"

Haruto laughed, crying himself. "If I had to prove myself for my parents to love me, they'd have dumped me in a ditch by the time I was seven."

"Don't even joke like that," Arata scolded, giving the orange-haired boy a stern expression. "Both of you are wonderful people. We're blessed to have sons like you. Your talents, grades, none of that qualifies you. You're already worthy."

"I'd be really happy to have you as an older brother." His tone was bashful.

"To be honest," Himari admitted, "and, this is probably pretty obvious– I've thought of you as a son this whole time. But I knew you weren't comfortable with that. We've all been real worried about you, you know."

"Thank you for talking to us. I know it can be hard sometimes." Arata's gratitude made Keiji realize something– he'd never been rewarded for being vulnerable before Haruto found him.

"Someone pinch me," he sighed, not even entirely sure he wanted it to be real. As beautiful as this was, he knew that it meant life as he knew it was over— he couldn't live ignorant to how emotionally neglected he'd been; he couldn't go back to locking all his guilt in a chest. Bisque complied, but couldn't help but do the true little brother thing and pinch him as sharply as possible. Keiji yelped out of instinct. "Oh, you little..."

"Now I'm really over everything. Blank slate! Again!"

After one last quivering breath, the group hug finally disbanded. Sheepishness blanketed the three men. Himari was less meek about it. "Emotions sure are hungry work, huh, boys? How about I make something tasty?"

Keiji didn't want to admit that he didn't get much joy out of eating. He'd go along with it. It would be nice just to have a meal with other people. "Nothing with parsley. He's allergic," Haruto brought up.

"You... remember?"

"Mhm! I'm not about to let you die in my own house! Oh! I should make lemonade!"

Keiji was impressed that he felt confident enough to do so, and also flattered that Bisque had recalled that info without any prompting. He sat back and watched as Himari made agedashi tofu and Haruto and Arata prepared lemonade. In spite of wanting to help, he simultaneously felt too tired and had enough self-awareness to know he'd be more of a hindrance in the kitchen.

Bisque placed a glass in front of Keiji before returning to his work. "Huh?"

"Give it a whirl!"

Keiji tilted it up to his lips. "You didn't put any sugar in this yet, did you?"

"Nope! And I tried not to water it down too much. That's gotta be at least eighty percent lemon juice!"

"I was wondering why you were crushing, like, six lemons. It's tart... thanks." His hands were shaking. After that conversation, everything was making him sentimental... well, perhaps that was less of a bad thing than he thought. Bisque making something he could actually taste made him feel exposed, but also understood. Eventually, the tofu was ready.

That, too, took him by surprise. It wasn't that he could taste it, but the textures were so pleasant and fun that it almost didn't matter. The outermost layer was crunchy from frying, but the inside was still velvety. It was a very enjoyable experience. All the while, the family talked about games, and movies, and music— all things Keiji knew he could conversationally contribute to— and it was once again staggering to him the difference between here and home. And he had a funny thought as Arata laughed at his joke about the movie Tampopo: Is this what storge feels like? Is this familial love?

It felt right. Keiji Gima. It sounded dorky, but he loved it.