Nyanko da! (ft Natsume): A Brothers Conflict Fanfic

Chapter 1: Misfortunate Mai

My jaw drops in shock. 

It's finally happened. Misfortune has finally chosen me as its next victim.

The trucks crowd the lot outside my apartment. The small one-roomed unit I've rented out since high school looks fine on the outside aside from that. As I run up to the gathering bystanders, I heard them murmur about a pipe leakage.

My first thought is that one of the gas pipes burst and soon the building will erupt in flames. 

Oh crap oh crap oh crap! 

All my notes and textbooks are in there! I've just come from work, so my laptop is still sitting on my desk. My heart drops in despair as I think of all the hours I've put into gathering sources for that essay. 

I wring my hands nervously. "Please don't explode. Please don't explode."

A man in a blue uniform comes up to me. "Do you live here?" he asks, nodding to the building.

"Hai. Unfortunately, yes," I mumble. "What happened?"

"A pipe burst," he says, confirming the story. "The upstairs bathrooms leaked into the lower floors, so the whole thing is going to have to be closed off. It's not livable anymore."

I knew I shouldn't have signed that sketchy lease.

"Can I go inside and get my things?"  I ask nervously.

I feel a metaphorical boulder crash down on my head when he says, "No."

Turns out I have to wait until the guys deem it clear, which could be up to five hours for them to check all the units. 

This is bad. My essay is due next week, and that professor is the kind to assign a new project every week. I'll be swamped if I don't get the thing done in time.

My shoulders sag as I hobble across the road to the konbini. The convenience store doors chime happily as I step inside. I want to curse at the happy tune. It feels like it's mocking me.

My stomach grumbles as I pass the candy aisle. I would get my favourite Meiji chocolates,* but my budget won't allow for that, especially not right now.

It dawns on me that I've got nowhere to stay. My stuff is possible lost to flooded toilet water. All I have are literally the clothes on my back and my work bag. 

At least I still have my phone. I pull it out from my back pocket and unlock the home screen. There are five messages from my mom asking how things are. Never mind. I take it back. 

I hate lying to my mom, but if I don't answer her she'll be worried. I decide to hold off calling her until later. Talking to her now might just push me over the edge, and I DO NOT want to cry in the middle of a store.

Another rumble from my stomach steers me over to the cold section. Though my budget says no to candy, it won't say no to ice cream. I grab the largest tub in the fridge and march up to the cashier. In my distressed state of mind I don't realize that the price rang up four-digits long.** By the time I realize I am already out the door. 

Crap. 

Oh well. At least I have ice cream.

I sit down on the curb outside the store, resolved to wait at a safe distance until they let people back in my building. Thankfully, I'd brought my portable utensil set, a cheap packet from orientation. Selecting the spoon, I dive into the ice cream, letting the chocolate mint freeze my worries away.

I nearly jump when my phone vibrates. If it's my mom again I'll freak.

I sniff.

It's Ema. 

E: How far are you on your essay?

Asahina Ema. She's in one of my lecture classes, along with her brother, who I think looks like a fire-using anime character with his bright red hair. What was his name, again? Yusuke? 

I type back:

M: About that...

It takes me a second to draft out my response. With Ema, she gets really empathetic when something bad happens. Like when I tripped on the stairs in one of the lecture halls she offered me a Hello Kitty patterned bandage for the bruise. Or when I forgot to close my water bottle properly she helped me hold my bag under the restroom hand dryer for a whole hour before class.

She's the kind of person you can count on for help, but what happened today is something I don't think she can fix. 

M: A pipe burst in my place, so I'll have to find somewhere else to stay.

E: Daijoubu desu ka? I'm so sorry that happened(◕⌓◕;)

M: Hai, hai. I'm fine, thanks. 

E: What are you going to do about housing?

M: I'll figure something out╭( ･ㅂ･)و ̑̑ 

I hope I figure something out. I check my banking app on my phone. Sucking in a breath, I try and fail at some quick calculations. I had enough to pay rent for the next month, and since tuition was taken care of by my parents and a scholarship I won't have to worry about that. But will such a small number be enough to stay in a motel for the rest of the semester AND replace all the things I've lost in the flood?

I shake my head. I'll be depressed about this later. Right now I've got to try and smile. They say that people can sense a smile over text messages. 

If Ema knew just how bad it was she'd worry about me. And I've already got mom's reaction to worry about.

Seconds later I'm startled as my phone springs to life. I drop my spoon in the ice cream tub. Melted green ice cream coats the handle. I scowl and pick it out again.

The caller ID reads "EMA," much to my chagrin. I want to decline, but that would be rude, and Ema will keep calling until I pick up.

Hitting "ACCEPT," I shove a spoonful of ice cream into my mouth. "Moshi mosh?" I say nervously.

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Notes:

*Meiji Group: As of 2022, still a very popular brand of chocolate in Japan. I highly recommend their dark chocolate and cookies and cream. Yum!

**1000¥ = ~$10 CA/$8 US as of 2022

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Vocab:

-Chan: suffix for a familiar person, commonly female or a younger person.

Daijoubu desu ka? : "Are you alright?" The formal way of saying it.

Hai: "Yes"; "okay"; "what?" depending on context

Konbini: convenience store; think like 7-eleven

Moshi mosh(i): "Hello" when answering the phone, kind of like "Wei?" in Mandarin

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Needless Commentary (sorta)

Here ends the 1st part of my first fanfic. I never thought I'd be posting one ever (ahahaha <-- nervous laughter).

A disclaimer: I'm not Japanese nor do I speak Japanese fluently. I've chosen to include Japanese phrases and notes in the fanfic to mimic a Japanese light novel and the Brothers Conflict anime. Any mistakes are entirely my own, and I'm sorry to any Japanese-speakers who cringe at the sight of my bad Japanese grammar!

Poor Mai-san's experienced the first flooding. Back in school one of my friends' places flooded. Thankfully, they were able to save most of their things, but it's not fun to be booted out of your room while renovations are underway!

Thank you so much for reading! I hope to see you in the next chapter!

╭( ･ㅂ･)و ̑̑╭( ･ㅂ･)و ̑̑╭( ･ㅂ･)و ̑̑