Birds of a Feather (Akaashi Keiji x OC)

Chapter 2

By some miracle, we could catch the train and arrive home before Mum did. Kou-nii was fumbling with his keys as he tried to open the door, but he couldn't get the key in. "Give me that," I said, snatching the key from him and opening the door. We both took our shoes off and quietly placed them in the shoe rack. We tiptoed inside to check if Mum was home yet with Kou-nii taking the lead. He could be surprisingly quiet when he needed to be, like now. I ran into Kou-nii's back because I was, so nervous about Mum being home. You-nii suddenly stopping didn't help my nerves. I peeked behind him. To our relief, we only saw Dad in the kitchen preparing dinner. Kou-nii gestured for me to follow him quietly and I nodded my head. We tiptoed to the living room and were about to make it to the hallway.

"Do you know how lucky you are that your mum's not home yet?" Dad suddenly asked. Kou-nii lightly tapped me on the back and I knew what I needed to do. "Sorry, Dad. We were having so much fun with a new first-year setter that we lost track of time." I said, giving him my puppy dog eyes. "Nice try, young lady, but that won't work on me anymore," Dad said not giving in. I puffed out my checks and turned away from Dad.

"I'm guessing Kou-kun wanted to hit some spikes with this new setter and you wanted to practice your blocking." Dad guessed. "Gah." Both Kou-nii and I turned around letting out a nervous laugh. Dad shook his head, making me even more anxious. This was the first time that either of us had been in trouble with Dad. Normally it was Mum telling us off so it felt scarier when it was Dad scolding us.

"Honestly... You're both almost adults now and I get that you're still in high school, but at least act a little more responsible." Dad started and we followed him into the living. He sat down on the couch, and we sat on the opposite side and faced him. "Koutarou. You're the oldest out of the both of you. You should be the one bringing your sister home before curfew. You are the one responsible for her safety. I know you look after her at school, but you should also be looking after her after school and not keeping her back." Dad listed and surprisingly Kou-nii was earnestly listening. I guess it's cause I was here and he knew Dad was right.

"But Dad it's not like anyone's going to target me or anything. I'm wearing the boy's uniform and everyone always mistakes me for a guy the first time I meet them. Half the time people don't even realise I'm a girl." I argued. Dad sighed, shaking his head. "That's not the point." He retorted. "Besides... Yuya. You shouldn't be encouraging your brother either with your extra practice. You do that and you'll get home like you two did today. That's why we set a curfew for the two of you." Dad reminded us and I listened intently. "Just try to get back home earlier or it doesn't matter how late you are from your curfew, whether it be by a minute or a second. Both Minori and Yasue will be coming home for a week. Minori will tutor you and make sure you both study. Yasue will drive you both to and from school and make sure you study." He added.

Whatever I was going to say I forgot it immediately at the mention of both Minori and Yasue coming home. Sure Minori was scary when she was in Strict Mode, I mean she was an elementary teacher and wasn't against any discipline with us, which was why she was so scared when she was tutoring us. But Yasue when she was in Overthinking/Anxiety Mode and driving us to school. She would go through every single possible scenario for the whole drive. The two of them coming home at different times to punish us at the request of our parents was a nightmare. But if they were both home at the same time that was worse than a nightmare, it sounded like hell.

"Do I make myself clear?" Dad asked us. "Hai!!" We nervously shouted. "Why don't you both get changed? Dinner will be ready soon." Dad instructed with a gentler tone. We did as told and went to our rooms. Our rooms were at the end of the hallway. Mine was to the right Kou-nii's room was to the left. Yasue's room was next to mine and Minori's was next to Kou-nii's. Their rooms had been kept the same and we'd vacuum and tidy them up.