Nyanko da! (ft Natsume): A Brothers Conflict Fanfic

Chapter 48: Kaasan's Call

"Your mom?" Ema covers her mouth. "Were you expecting a call from her?"

"No. I wasn't." That makes this all the more concerning. I'd messaged her that I was going out with friends today, so she wouldn't call to interrupt without a reason.

"I'm sorry, but I think I need to take this." I stand and make for the door. 

"If you want you can take the call here," Natsume offers. He opens the sliding door to the balcony. "We'll give you privacy."

"Ah... okay. Thank you." I bow my head and scurry out onto the balcony. Natsume pulls the curtain a little, giving me a bit of extra privacy. "I won't be too long."

"Please don't rush on our account," Ema says. "I hope everything is okay."

"Me too." I shut the door and answer the call. "Moshi moshi?"

"Mai!" My mom's voice booms so loud I have to move my phone away from my ear. "Where were you? I've been trying to reach you all day!"

"Sorry, Kaasan. I turned my notifications off because I was seeing a friend?" 

"A friend? What friend?"

"Thanks, Kaasan. Ema-chan, remember? I told you I was going out today. What happened that you keep messaging me like this?"

I expect to hear menial complaints, something to do with trip details or how their hotel accommodations were messed up. 

But to my surprise—and horror—my mother bursts into tears. She sobs and snivels loudly on the other end of the line, and because I can't see her I can only freeze in panic. What in the world is going on?

"K-Kaasan? Are you okay? What happened?" I press the phone against my ear. "What happened? Is it you? Did something happen to you?"

My mother breaks down in response. I hear a loud thud, like she's hit the floor. My blood runs cold and goosebumps rise across my arms.

"Kaasan, what's wrong? Kaasan, say something! Can you take deep breaths and calm down?"

"M-Mai..."

"Deep breaths, Kaasan. In... out... Yeah, like that. Slowly."

I sink to the floor, gripping the edge of the railing for support. Below, people rush through the streets. A couple of them are staring upward, hopefully not at me. I don't need anyone to witness the crisis that's unfolding.

"Kaasan, are you okay now? Can you tell me why you're crying? Did something happen to Tousan?" I keep my voice as gentle as possible, but gentleness isn't my strong point. I hate being left in the dark, and my impatience is bound to show through.

My mother heaves another deep breath before sobbing heavily into the phone. Her raspy breaths only tell me the graveness of the situation.

"It's Shin!" she whimpers. "He's gone!"

A gasp escapes my throat and I nearly drop my phone. Catching myself, I grip the case harder and narrow my eyes. "What do you mean, 'he's gone'? Did he die? Kaasan, tell me he didn't die!"

I know me and Shin fight all the time when I'm home, but I never wanted him dead!

My throat clenches as a flurry of worse-case scenarios rushes through my mind. My previous apartment got flooded, something I thought only happened in anime. Anything could have happened. Shin could have been kidnapped or hit by a truck or been caught in a book avalanche...

"What? He didn't die. What are you saying, Mai?" My mother pauses her crying. 

I wipe my nose. "You're the one crying like it's the end of the world," I retort. "I thought he'd been hit by a car or something! Don't scare me like, that, Kaasan."