Blues on the Canvas

1.7

April 22nd of 2016

It was 5:30 and the two took one last walk around Kichijoji, with Yusuke admiring the sunset and Hanae sneakily buying snacks and putting them in Yusuke's bag. After a while more, the two were stopped by a posh man.

"Are you perhaps Hanae Uchida? It's a honour to meet you in face!" the man began, extending his hand out to her for a handshake, Yusuke coughed again to make his presence known in this sudden interaction. "Are you perhaps interested in performing in my jazz club every now and then? It won't be too late into the night, here have a flyer!" 

The man gave Hanae a leaflet and his business card. Hanae accepted and placed them in her pocket, bowing her head slightly.

"Yes, that's me, do I give you a call or a text whenever I can? I've heard about the jazz club here, its doing quite well isn't it? I hope your business continues to prosper sir, I must get going now, I don't want to keep my friend here waiting." she replied, bowing again and quickly darted away with Yusuke trailing behind her. 

"So many people are looking for me today huh, sorry to keep you waiting Kitagawa-kun."

"No worries, isn't it nearly 6 though? Wouldn't want to keep him waiting." Yusuke frowned, unsure if he should just let Hanae leave with someone she isn't acquainted with. "Uchida-san, please do give me a text when you're with him, I'm a bit worried to send you off with someone you barely know."

"Indeed I am someone she barely knows, but we're still family by blood haha!" someone laughed behind them, the duo turned around to see Hiro standing there, holding his car keys and waving. "Don't worry, we're just having a family dinner tonight, I'm planning to take her away on the weekends for some bonding time too! Say, what is your name kid?"

"Yusuke Kitagawa." the blue haired man bluntly said, offended that he would eavesdrop and appear so suddenly. Yusuke had felt some sort of conflict believing they were really related, but the idol knew too much about Hanae to not be related. He watched as Hiro put his arm around Hanae's shoulders while smiling at him, then changing his focus on his friend who was wincing away from his sudden action. Perhaps somewhere inside of Yusuke ignited a flame that desperately wanted to protect her, as he had never had anyone this close to him in his life. 

"Lovely name that is, now we'll be heading off then! Thank you so much for taking care of my dearest sister, I'm sure I'll see you around then!"

And after he said that, he guided Hanae away before she could even say good-bye. Yusuke pictured it as a kidnapping in fact, though that thought wasn't making the situation any better. Gripping his hands into a fist, he frowned at the idol who was having a much better time than his sister, who was powerless underneath his grip on her shoulders. 

Yusuke made his way to the station, when realising he didn't have enough cash, he checked his bag again, to see a bag of coins and snacks at the bottom. He smiled, he truly had an angel by his side now, compared to that devil of a sensei.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

The boy returned to the wooden shack, to see the frail figure of Madarame looking out the window. The older man turned and looked at him, giving him a small nod then turning back to look at the window. Yusuke stared at him for a moment, then returning to his shabby room with a cloud on his heart.

Yusuke sat on his mattress that was placed on the floor with no frame, his sketchbook next to him, though clearly flicked through by someone as it was open and some pages were badly ripped out. With a sigh, he laid down with his hands on his face, gaining a headache that didn't seem to want to go away. Everyday he was stuck between wanting to escape his current life and staying as a form of respect for his sensei for taking him in. The night grew late and he stared at the ceiling for hours, his thoughts building on him as time ticked away. Though the clouds covered the moon, his own moonlight shot out from his phone suddenly, a text he was awaiting.

"Kitagawa-kun? hope I didn't text you too late, I'm doing fine in this family dinner, I got to know Hiro more but I still have my reservations... ah but, hope you enjoy the snacks I put into your bag, eat them alright? also go to sleep soon, the night is quite late isn't it? good night then!"

The boy smiled at his phone, watching the moon go offline after he texted her a good night.

As he was doing so, a sound of the door downstairs was heard, a creaking sound and then a soft bang, someone had left the house. Yusuke darted to his window, watching Madarame emerge from the shadows with canvases.

Without thinking much, he went back to his mattress and slept.