linguaphile | bl | jjk | ✓

7: Kelp Simmered in Soy Sauce (kombu)

7: Kelp Simmered in Soy Sauce (kombu)

"I'm Ito Himeno, 10, and nicknamed Himehime!"

"Ito Nanase, 14, and nicknamed Nana!"

"Ito Takeo, 14, and nicknamed—" the twins shared a look before grinning.

"TATAKAE!"

"..." - insert Toge blinking, taken aback by their enthusiasm.

"..." - insert Shunsuke covering his face in embarrassment. "I swear I didn't teach them that."

"..."

"Inumaki, I swear!"

.

.

Inumaki Toge figured out... that Shunsuke's siblings had long known about him before this first visit.

When he asked by writing on paper, it was Himehime who answered.

"Nii-chan can't stop talking and accidentally told us about you!"

Nanase snickered at Himehime's right. "Nii-chan is too talkative for his own good."

"You absolutely cannot tell nii-chan any of your secrets! He'll tell it to the whole world just a few hours later!" Takeo exclaimed at Himehime's other side.

"Stop blackening my name in front of Inumaki!" Shunsuke yelled inside the kitchen.

The trio flinched and behaved in an instant, sitting upright and proper on the couch while giving Toge a sparkling gaze.

The sorcerer couldn't help but smile behind his collar as he wrote down on the paper. "I'm Inumaki Toge, 17, and you can call me in any way you want."

"Inu-niichan!" Nana, Taka (Takeo told his nickname properly later), and Himehime collectively exclaimed.

Breakfast came not long after. Although Toge often ate breakfast with his classmates, it wasn't as lively as when he was with the Ito siblings. Nanase and Takeo fought over this and that, snatching food from each other's plate, and putting it on little Himehime's who would gobble it up.

Shunsuke simply watched at the side, as if what was happening was a normal thing.

When Toge unzipped his collar, the little Ito's didn't even look five seconds long at his marking before eating like starving animals.

The sorcerer had grown used to being stared at every time his markings showed in public but it didn't mean that he was comfortable being in the center of attention. So, when the trio only glanced at him, it dawned on Toge that Shunsuke must have warned his siblings.

This made his heart tremble.

Just how thoughtful was Shunsuke towards him?

The more he was given this treatment, the more Toge couldn't stop a certain feeling from forming inside his chest.

That entire day, Toge spent his time in the Ito Household.

One moment, he was helping the twins troll someone in the internet. Sometimes, it would be the bully at their school. Nana, the Science smart but English dumb twin, received Toge's help to troll the bully in English. Then, there was Taka, the academics dumb but sports genius twin, had Toge's help prank his best friend.

With Himehime, the precious princess of the Ito siblings wanted to play dress up with him. After playing with her, Toge ended up with his bangs tied up straight, a surprisingly decent make-up on, and even had magnetic earrings — since he didn't have his ears pierced.

At that point, Shunsuke himself joined them.

Himehime applied make-up on her brother, braided his hair (which she absolutely adores), placed an artificial flower wreath around his head, and ended his look with fake pointed ears.

Toge almost got sent to the ER if he didn't manage to calm himself down.

"Inumaki, let's take a picture together and send it to Maki and Panda!"

... I'm going to die.

.

.

"Noooooooooo!" Himehime whined as she clung onto Toge's leg while her elder twin brothers tried to pry her off him.

"Himehime, Inu-niichan needs to—"

"— go back to his home!"

"Himehime wants Inu-niichan to stay! If he leaves, I'm going with him!"

"..." A look of exasperation marred the sorcerer's face but there was also a touch of fondness in his eyes. Toge shifted his gaze from the little ones to Shunsuke, who was standing at the back while taking photos.

His eyes glittered with unconcealed joy, fingers continuously tapping on the screen of his phone. He sensed a gaze glued on him and found Toge looking at him in the cam. Shunsuke raised his gaze, catching Toge's pleading look.

The linguaphile snickered.

"Himehime," he called out while ending the short video he shot. "Don't you like nii-chan anymore? You seem to prefer Inumaki over me now."

Himehime, who held onto Toge like a koala, stiffened from shock and loosened her hold. This gave the twins a chance to pull her away.

"No," the little princess rushed towards her elder brother and hugged him around the waist. "I still like Shunshun-niichan the most!"

Upon hearing that nickname come out of her mouth, it dawned on Toge why Shunsuke used it as his contact name. It was because Himehime gave it to him.

... a primary student really gave it to him. This sudden turn of events amused the sorcerer. Raising his hand, he waved to get the Ito siblings' attention.

"Kombu."

"COME BACK AND PLAY WITH US AGAIN, INU-NIICHAN!"

Shunsuke smiled, eyes turning into crescents. "Feel free to visit any time, Inumaki."

.

.

Shunshun
btw
don't call me ito-san anymore
just call me shunsuke
since there's four of us noe
*now

Toegay
k
shunsuke-san
please call me by my name, too

Shunshun
Shunshun sent a voice message.

The words displayed on the screen of his phone startled Toge. Tapping the record with a look of confusion, his cheeks heated up, heart racing, as he covered himself entirely with his comforter by the end of it.

"Toge. Don't you think it's cute that its rōmaji has the same first two syllables of the English word together?"