a bunny's heart | karma akabane

052: Family jewels

TW (!): basically the same as last chapter. Once again, please stay safe.

THE AKABANES WERE a dysfunctional family. That was the generational curse every child of theirs had to deal with in the span of their small life.

Why? Well, let's put it this way.

When Kyo Akabane was born, he grew up somewhat comfortable with the family curse. His parents, Yukiko and Tanaka akabane, weren't strangers.
In fact, Tanaka and Yukiko loved
their firstborn boy fairly unconditionally.

Kyo grew up with people fawning over him. He was told that he was a handsome and intelligent boy, "it runs in the family", they said.

Perhaps it was never really his fault that he held himself at a higher worth than other people, when people practically punched it into him from the point he opened his eyes for the first time.
He was naked, only dressed in his pride.

He was the center of attention.

At every children's party, at every medical function of his father's, at school and at the playground.
He was practically born a miracle.

Kyo Akabane was the epitome of the only child syndrome, and children like that don't adapt well to change. Mainly because normally, when something wasn't to their liking, they could beg their daddies and mommies to fix it.

The moment Yukiko Akabane announced that she was pregnant, Kyo asked his parents to fix it immediately.

Karma Akabane and Kyo Akabane weren't so different at all: they were smart, they had the same eyes, they'd be terrified about admitting that.

Believe it or not, karma Akabane actually loved his older brother with all his being until he was about 7 years old.
The same couldn't be said for Kyo Akabane.

"Hey, hey, did you see that waitresses dumb face when you requested it cooked again?" Summer mocked, grimacing.

5-year-old Karma Akabane looked through the split in his window when he heard that familiar mix of laughter.

Kyo Akabane's friend group consisted of children from his parents' friends.

There was Neil, the pale British boy who's parents were Oxford tech legacy. Summer, miss Americana with a dad stationed in Tokyo at the time. Ann Starling, a half Japanese half russian girl who was Kyo's best friend at the time. And... Lane.

From the sound of that introduction, one would probably guess that kyo's friends were a bunch of snobby rich kids dressed in vicuna wool and fur.
They were. ... For the most part.

Lane blacksmith was upper middle class, a Japanese American girl Kyo picked up on one of tanaka's medical functions for doctors out of boredom.
Lane blacksmith was sweeter and kinder than any of Kyo's friends. She was the only one who was kind to him, when kyo told him to bring them sweet tea from the kitchen or when they stumbled across eachother in the hallway.

One could perhaps say that karma had a sort of childlike crush on her, an innocent admiration.
Yes, she was twice his age.

Kyo knew that. He absolutely did.

To be fair, a seven year old's crushing state isn't that hard to detect. Still, kyo paid unabridged attention to things karma found Important. He was searching for a way to get back at his little brother.

"For what?" Neil sloppily asked, drunk laying on the couch.

Kyo didn't answer.

"For being born, probably," summer snored, giggling uncontrollably.