Stag Beetles and chaotic family relations

Chapter 1

Gakushuu just stared at his cousin, a girl the same age as him but suspiciously small, with short, dark, strawberry blonde hair, and bright green eyes; Hinano Kurahashi.

"Oh..." Hinano froze, carrying a bucket full of frogs, which were currently all over his bedroom. "...Um, you're back early, cousin."

A frog hopped onto his head, as his patience finally wore thin.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY ROOM!?"

The frogs jumped around in a frenzy.

****

Two months earlier.

Gakushuu remembered the day very clearly, it was a Sunday and he'd been nine years old eating his breakfast in the kitchen. His father had been late, which was odd because the man was never late for anything.

He drank his orange juice and eyed the clock as the time ticked closer to 7:35AM. Which would make his father 35 minutes late.

He hummed, feeling a rise of concern since he didn't want his father to be dead in his office. Even if the man wasn't the nicest parent, and he had locked him outside in the snow last week because he'd lost a skiing competition; it was fine. It had been a lesson so it wasn't like his father had done it for no reason...

Some parents were strict, that was normal. Either way, he should probably check if he was okay.

Gakushuu sighed and stood up, leaving the kitchen to go find the man. "Dad?"

His father didn't respond, even when he knocked on the home office door.

"...Sir?" he called hesitantly and raised his hand to knock again.

The door opened suddenly before he could knock a third time. "What?" His father's voice was sharp, but that wasn't what made him step back. "What do you want?"

His father had deep bags under his eyes and his eyes were red like he'd been crying...

Gakushuu's stomach flipped, memories of Ikeda sending a shiver down his spine. "...You're late for breakfast."

His father gripped the doorknob tight, smoothing back his hair that was slightly less perfect than normal. "I'm not hungry." He grimaced, stepping back into the office. "I have a lot of important work to get through."

Then, just like that his father closed the door and shut him out again.

****

He found out three days later that his father's strange behaviour was because his father's sister and nearly all her family had died.

Mrs Sakai Kurahashi (nee Asano) had died along with her husband, and two oldest sons, in a road accident in the snow. They'd been driving to a holiday destination when a storm hit near the mountains.

The only one who had survived was Hinano Kurahashi. Born October 24th and the same age as him. She'd survived because her older brothers had shielded her from the worst of the crash.

Though he didn't really know her that well, or his aunt. He knew at some point his father and his aunt had been close, but the Kurahashis had stopped visiting when he was around four after his father and aunt had a large argument when she'd found out his father had decided not to celebrate his fourth birthday because of other commitments. His aunt had been livid and even though he couldn't remember what had been said, there had been lots of yelling.

They didn't visit each other after that, though, he did know she'd sent Christmas and birthday cards yearly, even though his father tried to hide them for some reason, the man did tend to hold grudges.