Everchanging

Monster

!!TW!! Talk of SA, Talk of Rape, Violence, psych ward(just setting, not described in detail)

Today was a bittersweet day. On one hand, it was a good day; Sabito had just called and informed Sanemi that Miyano had been sentenced to 15 years in prison. It was the most he could do, but it was better than nothing. But also, Genya had finally been transferred to the psych ward.

It was painfully difficult to stay away from Genya, even if Sanemi knew that his brother needed time to acclimate. The doctors had said that his first day would probably be the busiest, dealing with signing in and getting his room on top of going to dozens of therapy consultations. So, Sanemi had to force himself to stay away for today. Then he will visit his baby brother tomorrow.

Only one day.

But it hurt so much to not see his baby brother alive and breathing in front of him.

His back was sore from carrying dozens of boxes from Tengen's truck into his new home. His hands ached and his mind was hazy, but he forced himself to focus on putting the boxes away.

"I got new stuff for the kid's room." Obanai muttered, lingering by the door with a few bags in his hand. "Tengen and Kyo are out getting the rest. Since that bitch decided to ruin his manga collection."

That was another thing, it seemed like it was only days ago that Sanemi and his friends had put his baby brother's room together with such care. New furniture and new books for the boy that they hoped would last him for years. But that hadn't been the case, most were ruined, and the others Sanemi couldn't stand to look at. So, he and his friends had decided to start from fresh.

"Thanks, you didn't have to." Sanemi sighed, opening one of the dozens of boxes. Mitsuri and Shinobu were busy unpacking the kitchen utensils, their giggling echoing through the house. This apartment was significantly bigger than Sanemi's old place. Instead of just two bedrooms and a single bathroom, there were now three bedrooms, two of which had attached bathrooms. The living space was a little smaller, half of it split into the kitchen and the entrance way. But Sanemi was pleased to know that they would both have their own personal spaces and an extra room to spare. He decided that he would wait to see what Genya wanted to do with that room instead of just using it for a study or something.

"Tomioka was right, this place is way more bougie than your old place." Tengen whistled as he shouldered in with a few more bags and boxes, Kyojuro trotting along behind him. "Must've cost you an arm and a leg."

"It doesn't cost too much more than the old place." Sanemi nodded to himself, placing his books on the shelf. "Plus, it's got more security and shit like that, so I guess it's worth it."

"Yeah, no offense but your last place was kinda shit." Obanai chuckled, sitting on the unmade bed as he flipped through one of Sanemi's curriculum books. "How does one lady break in that easily?"

"I don't know but it won't happen again." Tengen shrugged, setting the things down before helping unbox everything. His expression grew stormy. "I'd rather spoon my own eyes out than see the kid like that again."

Silence grew around them for a second, the air a little heavier than before.

"But, hey, she was convicted right? So, no worries." Kyojuro tried to liven up the room more, patting Sanemi and Tengen on their shoulders before he went back to messing with the tangled lamp cord. "When are you guys going to explain everything to him with Hinatsuru?"

"The day after tomorrow, hopefully. Since he'll be more settled in by then." Sanemi answered easily, leaning on the shelf as he turned to look at his friends. Obanai had busied himself with opening one of the many boxes while the other two were putting things away. "Fingers crossed that it goes well."