Naru Henituse

Part 6

The eighth day of the eleventh month. It was a day that Naru associated with an excess of pain. The anniversary of his mother's death tore apart the fractured family even further each year and Naru learned at a young age never to celebrate his birthday.

It would be more accurate to say that he never learned to celebrate his birthday in the first place. It was a miserable day each year and it was only later in his short life that he learned that birthdays were a cause for celebration for most people.

He didn't really celebrate even after he'd learned that though. It simply wasn't something that he was accustomed to doing and there didn't seem to be any point in developing a habit of it.

So Naru wasn't prepared to wake up to a new stuffed toy waved in his face while Cale laughed out a jovial "Happy birthday, Naru."

My brother is definitely possessed.

That just about confirmed it. Naru glared skeptically up at Cale from his spot in the crib and Cale snorted loudly, reaching down to rustle Naru's hair. "Don't give me that look, you little jerk." He passed Naru the stuffed dog toy that Naru reluctantly accepted, still eyeing his brother critically. "Did you think I forgot? Jeez."

No, I thought you'd be mad at me.

Truthfully, Naru had been meticulously preparing for this day. Training his legs until he was confident in even managing a short sprint and a fast crawl away. He didn't know what face he would be greeted with on his birthday but he knew that Cale never smiled on this day.

Cale only became more and more morose with each year, eventually drowning his grief in alcohol.

It was strange to have his first birthday on his first birthday like this.

Cale was explaining how the chef was preparing some baby-friendly cake for later and despite the heavy bags under his eyes, Cale apparently intended to spend the day with him. All of this was explained as Cale carefully and skillfully dressed Naru up for the day, adding extra layers so Naru could guess they were going outside.

Naru couldn't help but glance toward the desk where Cale normally toiled his days away.

"...you really think I'm a workaholic, punk." Cale complained, picking Naru up from his spot and carrying him to his stroller. "C'mon, I'm not that much of a shut in. I can take one day off."

"Can you?" Naru asked before he could help himself. He instantly regretted it, covering his mouth with his hands and staring ahead fearfully. He couldn't see Cale's expression. Naru had talked a bit to Cale, here and there, but never directly disrespected him like this.

Memories of his uncle, hot and fresh like yesterday, burned in the back of his eyes and Naru couldn't breathe.

Cale's laugh startled him out of his panic.

"Holy shit, you really are my little brother." Cale cackled, pushing the stroller out of the nursery. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a bad attitude?"

Naru frowned ahead, deciding to risk his well-being again in order to properly test the waters. "You're worse."

Cale laughed again, louder this time, and peeked his head over the stroller to look down at Naru with a crooked grin. "Were you waiting until your first birthday to show off?" He sniggered and shook his head, returning to his work of pushing Naru down the hall and to the gardens.

It wasn't often that Cale took Naru for a walk around the gardens and normally it was Ron who did it when the trip was approved at all but it was a familiar route and a pleasant change of pace. The gentle rays of sunlight and autumn chill filled Naru with a strange feeling that built up in his gut.

"...you're different..."

Cale's footsteps finally paused and Naru's breath caught. Was that finally the step too far? Whether his brother was possessed or regressed, it probably wasn't a good idea to acknowledge it. Any information that Cale didn't know Naru possessed was information that he could use to safely escape.

"Yeah." Cale admitted and walked beside the stroller, crouching down next to Naru and giving him a sad smile. "A lot of shit changed."

Naru frowned. How did he feel about that? Did he like it? Hate it? He preferred not to think about it at all. His priority was protecting his own safety, not building some familial bond with the people who abandoned him.

"I'm glad it changed though." Cale fussed with Naru's hat, affixing it firmly so that Naru's ears wouldn't get cold in the chill. "I don't like how it was before."

Strange.

Naru felt like he might cry.

He couldn't explain how or why. He didn't want or expect anything from Cale Henituse, regresser or possessor, he knew that Cale wouldn't be there for him when it counted.

But something was stirring in his heart.

"I fucked up a lot." Cale looked wretched as he admitted it, a painful grimace and guilt darkening his brown eyes until they were dim and empty. "I don't want to fuck up again."

Naru looked away. He couldn't quite stand to look at Cale for some reason. It was painful and sorrowful. Unconsciously, he squeezed the toy dog he'd been gifted.

"But I wanna celebrate your birthday, Naru."

Naru fought back the strange emotions and forced himself to look back at his older brother's face.

Cale's smile was meek and small, entirely uncharacteristic of the boisterous and crude man that Naru had known.

"Would you be okay with that?"

What was Naru supposed to say? No? That would cause more problems than it would solve. Besides, it was just one day.

The fuzzy fur of the stuffed toy tickled Naru's cheek as he nodded, glaring at Cale bitterly.

Naru really didn't think he had any emotions left to feel anything in particular about his birthday but Cale managed to force some out of him. It was bittersweet.

But Naru didn't hate the way tension left Cale's shoulders and his smile softened. "Alright, twerp. Where do you want to go first?"

That was something else that he could like about Cale. It was nice that he didn't linger on these awkward moments more than necessary.

And maybe his first birthday celebration was actually quite nice. A small and humble affair with cake, a terrifying assassin disguised as a servant, his possessed older brother, and an even more terrifying chef.

Small and humble, but meaningful in a way that Naru couldn't describe.