Frostbite

A/N: I am so late for this, but I was looking through the Karashuu prompts again and got a burst of inspiration at 11pm last night.

(Prompt Karashuu Day 2 - Siblings)

Pt 1 of the One-shot series: That universe where Karma and Asano are brothers and everyone else suffers because of it.

***

Gakuhou Asano was a terrible father and Kairi Akabane was a terrible mother.

And together they had produced two terrible children, or at least that was how Karma decided to describe it in the simplest terms to Nagisa when the boy had stumbled across the hidden skeletons in the closet.

Anyway, it didn't matter, Kairi Akabane was a career-driven financial broker who preferred travelling to actually parenting; which suited Karma just fine considering it was a better alternative than living with his father, who's idea of good parenting involved locking your children out in the rain if they scored below a 90% in an elementary school spelling test.

Karma poked at his bao bun, his stomach twisting when the awkwardness at the dinner table grew.

Honestly, when his parents had finally divorced when he and Gakushuu were Ten years old, it was like a blessing in disguise. Like he'd finally been given the key to his freedom.

After the divorce, his mom hadn't given two shit if he'd studied, so long as his grades remained high enough for him to get into a decent high school.

He was free...

Well at least for 28 or 29 days of the usual month. One weekend had to be spent with his father and brother, as per court agreement, which was...

Karma kept poking at his food, keeping his gaze fixed on the plate while the scrapes of cutlery were the only other sound.

It was fine. Honestly, his father eventually lost interest and barely even spoke to him when he visited, and when Karma stopped showing up on his designated visitation days when he hit 13, his father didn't even call.

It was fine.

It was a good arrangement.

Karma had his freedom, Gakushuu had all their father's attention and everything was—

"Do you have any plans for your birthday this year, son?"

His whole body seized up, pausing for a long moment until he looked up to see the Principal staring at him from the head of the table, smiling...

Why was his father speaking to him?

"...My birthday?" Karma repeated, glancing at Gakushuu who was silent, sitting opposite, a faded bruise on his cheek; a visual reminder of the consequences of finals.

"Yes." The Principal smiled, pleasant. "I understand your mother isn't returning until the new year." He sipped some wine. "I won't be working Christmas day, so you're welcomed to spend it here."

Karma stared at him, the seconds stretching on while Gakushuu watched with a cold and detached expression.

"...You want me to spend my birthday here." Karma's kept his tone casual, controlling his nerves. "With you?"

His father chuckled, something about it making him want to cringe. "I thought it would be nice."

Karma looked at Gakushuu who was eating calmly, and then at the sperm donor, he called father.

The father who'd barely acknowledged he existed for nearly six years.

The same father had threatened to blow himself up in front of him and his classmates, all just to prove a point and who'd slapped his older brother across a classroom for losing first place by three points.