While he has been enrolled since his birth in Darkeas, the school of supervillains, Uchiri Nanaya ends up by mistake in Aitori ... the school of the Magical Girls.
Narino put his brother down but didn't let go of his hands.
"We have the whole house to ourselves," he said, "it doesn't matter where father is gone, he wouldn't bother if it's for less than an hour and mother is in Russia."
"Are you going to play with me? Really ?" Nakamara exclaimed happily, "but what about your homework? Father will-"
"He can't do anything if he doesn't know. And even if I pass the exercise, he will always find a reason anyway."
The little brother ran his hand over the bandage Narino wore on his cheek. Furious because of a bad grade, their father had done this to him with a knife. Luckily, Thoki then properly treated him. Nakamara not being the main heir, he never received blows. In fact, their father even acted as if he did not exist. Their mother and Thoki could offer him whatever they wanted, unlike Narino, he would not confiscate his toys and prevent him from eating properly. Nakamara would sometimes sneak into his brother's room to share food and sweets. And as soon as their father left, they played together.
Seeing that his brother couldn't make up his mind, Narino ruffled his hair.
"How about playing hide and seek?" He suggested, "but only indoors, not allowed to go into the garden."
"All right ! You count, Aniki!"
Narino allowed himself to laugh. Of course, Nakamara could just count on his fingers at this age. So it was always him who was hiding.
They left the room and Narino leaned face against a wall to give his little brother time to hide. He wasn't very good at it. Narino always found him easy because Nakamara couldn't help but laugh. The older one, however, lingered around the hideout for a while before discovering him, leading him to believe he was very well hidden.
This time again, the whole mansion was their playground. They forgot the time and did not pay attention to what was happening outside.
Narino was leaving the living room after finding Nakamara, his little brother right behind him, when the slamming of the front door made them look up. The younger boy froze in terror when he saw their father standing there.
"F-...father..." Narino whispered shakily, "I... uh... I just... went downstairs for a drink... and... um... I heard..."
He looked down at his younger brother, quickly coming up with an idea, looking up at his father again.
"N-...Nakamara bumped into something..." he invented, "I...just came to see. I'm going back... going back to studying immediately... I'm almost done with the equation, should it..."
"No," the man interrupted, "follow me."
He simply threw his coat at Thoki, who narrowly grabbed it, and walked towards the basement door, his workshop. Narino hesitated for a second before following him quickly.
The butler put the coat in its place and walked over to the younger child instead. He absolutely had to distract him. He crouched at his height, smiling gently.
"I had baked some pastries this morning," he said, stroking Nakamara's hair, "no one will notice if a few are missing. Come with me to the kitchen, young master."
Nakamara nodded silently. He knew perfectly well that his brother was being punished right now and he hated it. He took Thoki's hand and followed him. He didn't have much of an appetite and only ate two pastries.
He didn't see his brother for the rest of the evening, not even at dinner.
Narino had been sent to his room with a ban on leaving until the equation was resolved. His back was bleeding, so much that it penetrated his clothes and he held his left arm against him, blue, painful and swollen. He had not been whipped. This time, his father had directly slashed his back with a knife before crushing his arm. He had also forbidden Thoki to heal or feed him until he passed his exercise.
Midnight had passed and he still hadn't resolved it. The pain made his head spin. He didn't hear his door open and small footsteps sneaking into his room. He didn't realize it until he felt the small hand tug his sleeve. He then looked at his brother and found his smile, although grimacing in pain.
"Hey, my sun," he squealed, "you should be in bed..."
Nakamara hesitated and finally handed him a pastry. Thoki had given it to him for later, knowing full well that he would then give it to his brother. Narino rubbed his head gently. He couldn't hide his hunger, his belly made a sound as soon as he saw the food.
The youngest then reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of disinfectant and some cotton. Trusting him completely despite his young age, Narino let him clean his injured back. Unfortunately that was not helpful at all for his broken arm. He gritted his teeth as hard as he could during the process and managed not to let out a single sound. He felt terribly tired.
The healing done, he grabbed Nakamara with one hand to pull him onto his lap and hugged him, burying his face against him.
"What would I do without you," he muttered, "my sun, my spring, please, don't ever leave me..."
"Why would I abandon you, Aniki?"
Narino tightened his arm in a desperate embrace. He wanted to take his brother and leave. But he knew very well that their father would find them. He had thought about throwing himself on a highway or in a river with him, so that they would both be free, but the idea of killing his brother was unbearable to him.
He was so lost in thought that it took him a moment to realize that Nakamara was writing. He had turned to the desk and seemed to be writing something down. It took him a little longer to realize that he was writing on the sheet where he had to solve this equation.
"Sun," he called in panic, "what are you-..."
"Look Aniki," Nakamara said simply, "it's easy!"
Narino watched in amazement as he jotted down the various equations one after another without blinking. These calculations were at least university level. When their father had ordered him to solve the equation, he had boasted that he had succeeded when he himself was nine years old. Their family was well known for being geniuses, but if Narino seemed like a black sheep, Nakamara looked a lot better than their father.
"Tell Father you figured it out on your own," Nakamara assured, putting down the pen.
Narino couldn't believe it. He even had totally decent handwriting for his age. It could work perfectly. He congratulated his younger brother, showering him with praise, thanks and kisses.
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