Naru Henituse

Part 9

Naru had a lot of new factors to consider.

Although most of it was looking at the conflicted expression of his older brother.

Cale was clearly trying to make up his mind about something and for once, he wasn't murmuring aloud enough for Naru to get an idea of what it was about.

Cale had been this way ever since their father visited a week ago. Stiff and unsure and upset.

Naru couldn't quite relate.

Truthfully, he didn't have any feelings of hatred or fear toward Deruth. The man was nothing more or less than a stranger. Seeing him like this, younger and drunk half out of his mind, reminded Naru a bit of Cale when he was older but aside from that he was just... a stranger.

It was clearly quite a bit more complicated for Cale.

Cale stood up quite suddenly from his desk and Naru watched curiously. Russet brown eyes met with his own and suddenly Cale hesitated once more, biting his bottom lip worryingly and a curse doubtlessly sitting at the tip of his tongue.

Naru stood up slowly and toddled over to his brother, tugging at his pant leg and looking up at him plaintively. "What?"

Cale seemed to snap out of it, leaning down and picking Naru up with a grunt that he was getting heavy.

"...what do you want, Naru?" Cale hesitated and rephrased. "I mean, from now on? Where do you want to be? What do you want to do?"

Naru squinted at him, what did Cale think he was asking a toddler? Sure, he was an adult on the inside, but Cale didn't know that. Therefore the criticism was valid. Still, Naru had an answer waiting, even if he never intended to receive help from his brother for this goal. "I want to be a slacker."

A crooked smile overtook Cale's face and he carried Naru over to his little playpen before gently placing him down on the plush carpet. "I can arrange that."

Naru couldn't help it. He scoffed. There wasn't a lot that Cale could manage in the current circumstances. He was also in the body of a child. Aside from that, Naru struggled to trust his well-being and future in the hands of Cale Henituse. That sounded like an easy way to have a short future.

As soon as he could manage it, Naru was going to save up money and escape from this place.

The bags under Cale's eyes were deeper than ever and Naru absently poked one of them.

Cale gently swatted his hand away. "I'm going to meet with father."

Naru tensed.

Somehow, he didn't like that.

He couldn't figure out exactly why. But something about the clear distress Cale had been in for the previous week and the expression of determined despair on his childish face made him hate it.

It didn't matter to him if Cale did something stupid or dangerous. Cale wasn't his responsibility. Frankly, they were also practically strangers. And Cale wasn't even a real child. He didn't need Naru's protection and Naru definitely didn't intend to protect him. What the hell did he owe Cale Henituse? Nothing at all.

Cale made to stand up and paused when he noticed Naru clutching his sleeve.

Cale chuckled. "I'll be back soon. Don't worry. If you're lonely, Ron will be here the whole time."

That's way worse! Naru wanted to snap back but he didn't dare for fear that Ron would hear his disrespect. "...how long?"

"Maybe a few hours?" Cale gently disentangled his little hand and, distressingly, Naru realized that this would be the first time in his new life that Cale had left him alone for that long.

He couldn't explain why that brought him so much anxiety.

There were even tears threatening to sting the corners of his eyes as he tightened his grip, this time around Cale's fingers in a desperate bid to not have him leave.

What if you don't come back?

Why do you look so nervous?

How will I survive if you leave me?

Naru let go of the fingers quite suddenly, bitterness filling him to the brim and pulling away from his surprised brother.

Since when was he foolish enough to depend upon Cale?

He knew much better than anyone else on this planet just how undependable, fickle, and cruel his brother could be. There was no point in relying on him.

"Coming here to beg for scraps? Ha! You really are a parasitic maggot!"

Naru clenched his mouth shut and watched Cale sullenly as the boy stood up, hesitation once more marring his young face. The expression only made something like anger build in Naru's chest.

Why would he dare pretend to care now? What sort of stupid–

Cale's tearful apology from a week ago stung painfully in his heart and Naru looked away. Sullenly not replying to Cale's goodbye and refusing to look up until Cale had left the room.

Stupid.

Naru only realized his real anxiety after the door clicked shut and everything about it filled him with resentment.

In the end, Cale would always choose their father. Deruth Henituse was his only real family, after all. And Naru was just a parasitic worm in his eyes–

An amused chuckle drew him out of his thoughts and he looked up into the benign expression of the terrifying assassin disguised as a servant.

"How unusual, young master Naru." Ron cooed, picking him up and sending chills down his spine. "Are you holding a grudge?"

It was complicated.

If Cale was anyone else, it would have been easier.

"...am not." Naru lied, averting his gaze away from Ron's perceptive eyes.

He couldn't explain the bitterness. Not properly.

After all those years of wanting a brother, of longing for family, of being abandoned, why was it only now? Why was it only now? When Naru no longer needed him and no longer wanted him? Why was Cale apologizing now?

Naru didn't want to admit that he could still be affected by it. That the entity known as Cale Hentiuse was supposed to be nothing to him. He wasn't supposed to care anymore.

"You miss your older brother already, don't you?"

What a vicious old man.

Naru squeezed his eyes shut and tried to ignore it all.

Tried to ignore the childish emotions that cloyed and clawed inside of him, whispering that now that Cale had his father's attention, he would never come back. That they would once more become a happy family together and Naru would be sent to live with that disgusting baron once more.

I'm not scared. I'll survive. I did it before.

"You're trembling. How cute."

An absolutely merciless and vicious old man.