You've gained a routine. Before going to school, you'd make lunch for you and Tetta. You'd drop off your little brother at his elementary school, before going off to your high school. You got less sleep than usual, waking up early and ending up needing to sleep late because of the job you ended up having. It was a bit tough, but you needed money to get stuff for Tetta- your mother didn't care at all about him, and only bought you things. She either ignored Tetta existed, or tried to beat him.

So you bought Kisaki clothes, books, toys, food, etc. You tried to pamper him as much as you could.

And when he came home, happily telling you of his friend Hina-chan, he admitted to you that he maybe 'liked' her. 

He asked you how it felt like to like somebody.

And so you told him.

"It's.. I dunno. They make you happy whenever you're around them. Sometimes, it feels like you can't speak around them. But even then, that's okay, 'cause you like being around them anyways. Your heart will race sometimes, and your face will feel hot, too. You'll care more about what they do, how they feel, what they think about- but that's just a part of it. You care for them. That's.. that's when you like somebody. You don't like somebody forever. And you don't have to do anything about liking them. Just.. don't bother them, y'know? Don't be weird about it," you explained, rather badly. But it was true. You'd liked people, before, but you'd ended up dying and not having any partner to worry about. 

"Really? Then.. I think I like Hinata-chan, nee-chan," Kisaki admitted, fiddling with a stuffed shark plushie you'd bought him.

"That's okay, then, Tetta," you ruffled his hair gently, "She must be very nice for you to like her."

He brightened, "Yeah, she is!"

Despite having knowledge at how his one-sided crush would turn out, you still just smiled softly at your little brother and listened to him rant about his 'first love'.

--

You had no friends at school. You were always quiet, and not needing the cops to be called (else they separate you and Tetta), you made sure not to get close to anybody to ensure that they'd never find out.

Besides, you'd never been lonely. You were busy, a lot of the time, between taking care of Tetta and working. 

Today was the weekend, meaning you and Tetta would often go out as to not deal with your mother. You needed to go clothes shopping for Tetta- you'd received your paycheck, and he needed new, better clothes. It was getting cold, but he had no jackets, so you planned to buy some for him.

He had a playdate with Hinata apparently, and so you were going to drop him off, and then go shopping. It was a good plan, since Hinata's mother would be there. 

A quick conversation with the woman, and then you were at the mall, searching for a reasonably-priced jacket that could be used for a few years during winter or fall. 

You were picking between a few with a keen eye before somebody bumped into you.

"Ouch," you mumbled out, and you hoped it sounded like just a response to surprise and not one of your bruises being pushed against.

"A-ah, sorry!" a teenager about your age apologized, flushed red for some reason.

"Oh, uh.. It's okay?," you reassured him, sounding more anxious than he was. You hated the awkwardness that you had not missed from your teenage years.

He looked dazed at you, still bright red. He had turned even brighter at the (hopefully) reassuring smile you'd sent him.

"Do you- I could take you on a date as an apology!?" he shouted, too loud for a store that was as surprisingly quiet as this one.

You blinked. You blinked again. At your silence, he became even more red.

Finally breaking the silence, you gave a blunt, "No."

Immediately, you turned away to walk out of the store, speed-walking away as he tried to run after you. 

You only ran faster. 

You ended up dropping the clothes off (you can come back some other day to buy them), focusing on getting away. Why the hell was the dude still chasing you?!

"STOP RUNNING, PLEASE," he wheezed, finally stopping. You finally stopped- not out of breath.

You stared at him strangely.

"Was that all it took to get you to stop?! Why did you start running away?!" he asked, still out of breath. He needed some.. water, or something.

"Why did you start chasing me?" you responded with, raising an eyebrow as he blinked at you.

"Um, I just wanted to apologize..? Sorry, I'm.. really bad with girls, and I didn't wanna make you uncomfortable or anything.." he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. He seemed a lot like a dumbass.

"You're weird," you state bluntly, before waving goodbye. It was about time to pick up Tetta.

"Ah- wait, I-" the teen tried to continue talking to you.

You raised an eyebrow, "What is it now? You already apologized like you wanted to. Go drink some water or something."

"But- um. Um- What's your name?" he was clearly grasping at straws. It weirded you out. Why was he so desperate to talk to you?

After a beat of silence, you decided to answer, if only so he'd leave you alone, "I'm [L/n] [Y/n]."

"I'm Sano Shinichiro!" he grinned brightly at you, and your face paled. It felt like you'd been punched in the gut- not particularly in pain, but rather the feeling of shock. Because he was one character you'd liked a lot- because he looked cool, seemed nice, and had met an unhappy end you'd wished you could change.

You felt like you were drowning. Meeting Shinichiro was worse than meeting Kisaki. Kisaki might've been destined to be a villain, but here he was a child, and your younger brother.

Shinichiro was meant to die. You already knew canon would be ruined without Kisaki as the villain. 

Which meant somebody else had to be the villain. 

You had to be the villain.

You'd take on the 'role' of Kisaki, to keep canon alive. To keep the story you loved alive.

But you heart wanted you to save Shinichiro, to save Baji, to keep Mikey away from those horrid futures-

And you weren't one to be greedy.

(There was a reason you were put in here, right? To save Kisaki. Not to ruin canon, but maybe just to be an older sister. An older sister would do anything to protect her little brother. You could do that. But there was a reason you were put in as a character meant to die or disappear, a reason you were beaten and bruised, right? Because if you were being given a reward, you'd be a side character with a good home life, able to watch from the sidelines-

And this felt like a punishment.)

Shinichiro reached out to your shoulder, and you stilled, before staring straight at his eyes.

"It was nice to meet you. Goodbye," you say, and accept that Shinichiro will die.

--

"Could we get info on this girl I met today?" Shinichiro asks innocently.

"Haah? Is this another girl that rejected you-"

"NO! Well, yes. But also, no. She looked like she needed help."

Under your long sleeves had slipped out what looked like a faint bruise. You were not surprised when he bumped into you.

Shinichiro's a delinquent. 

He'd fight.

And if fighting included fighting abusers, so be it.

a/n

ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴᴀʟʟʏ ɪ ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴀ ꜰᴀɪʀʟʏ ᴀɴxɪᴏᴜꜱ, ʙʟᴜɴᴛ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ. ꜱʜᴇ ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇꜱ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʀᴇɪɴᴄᴀʀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀ ᴘᴜɴɪꜱʜᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴡᴀɴᴛꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴏɴ ʜᴇʀ 'ᴍᴏꜱᴛ ʜᴀᴛᴇᴅ' ʀᴏʟᴇ, ꜱᴏ ꜱʜᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏꜱᴛ ʜᴀᴛᴇᴅ. ꜰᴏʀ ᴀɴʏ ʏᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴏɴᴛ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀꜱᴛᴀɴᴅ? ʟɪᴋᴇ. ꜱʜᴇ ᴡᴀɴᴛꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛ ᴋɪꜱᴀᴋɪ ʙᴜᴛ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ᴅᴏᴇꜱɴᴛ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ʜᴏᴡ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴅᴇᴄɪᴅᴇꜱ ɪꜰ ʜᴇ ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍᴇꜱ ᴀ 'ꜱɪᴅᴇ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ' ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛʜᴇ 'ᴠɪʟʟᴀɪɴ', ʜᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ꜱᴀꜰᴇ. ᴇꜱꜱᴇɴᴛɪᴀʟʟʏ ꜱʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴛᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴜʀᴅᴇɴ ꜰᴏʀ ʜɪᴍ