"Cousins"

Terribly Tedious

While he may not have been in the best of moods, Gakushuu seemed to have taken the nap quite well. He wasn't feeling as irritable as he had been earlier in the day; of course, he wasn't any less irritable than usual, but this level of irritability, he was used to. He also felt more energized than in his previous state, and so, with a vigorous air, the strawberry blond took to completing the rest of the day's tasks more efficiently than if he were to not have disrupted his schedule by a bit. Naturally, the fact that he did disrupt his schedule—multiple times, might he add—at all still persisted to nag at him. How could he of all people do such a thing‽

Gakushuu sighed and gave his head a quick shake. He needn't be focused on such trivial thoughts at the moment. Currently, those were of least priority to him. He quickly inhaled, exhaled, and got back to work.

The fewer distractions Gakushuu let seep into his workload, the more quickly time seemed to pass by. Very soon, the hour for dinner had arrived. All Gakushuu had to do, though, was heat up enough leftovers for the occupants of the house. The leftovers came from Sundays when just enough food was cooked to last the two—now three—occupants the whole week.

Despite having a busier schedule than his son, Gakuhou was actually the one who would cook said meals. There were numerous factors as to why this was, but one of the main ones had to be the nitpicking. It was also one of the reasons the youngest of the household despised cooking. Yes, he also viewed it as a waste of time, but the nitpicking. The nitpicking.

Anytime Gakushuu decided to whip up a dish, his father would always find a way to criticize it, to find it unsatisfactory. If Gakushuu were to be honest with himself, he'd admit he was only a little self-conscious when it came to that skill. Of course, like with so many other things, he was talented in it, but one can only convince himself so far that his cooking abilities are superb when the only other person who actually eats it finds it subpar. Gakushuu was very well aware he could be biased when it came to himself.

Before heading over to the kitchen, Gakushuu decided to inform the new resident of the upcoming meal. Upon reaching Karma's room, Gakushuu rapped his knuckles on the door. He only had to wait a moment for a response.

"Hmm?"

"Dinner will be ready soon. I suggest you go ahead and wash up."

And with that, the strawberry blond finished his journey to the kitchen. He went over to the freezer and took out two pots—one of curry, another of rice. This was the typical dinner at the Asano's, as the two were people of routine and didn't mind consuming the same meal every day. Gakushuu placed the pots onto the stovetops, twisting their respective knobs to medium heat. As he waited for them to warm, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a head of red hair poke its way into the kitchen similarly to the way it did previously. The two shared a brief glance before looking away, one resuming his period of patience, the other standing lamely against the wall. The room was quickly filled with an awkward atmosphere.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Karma asked after a few beats of silence. It sounded rather forced. It probably was forced. Considering how weird Gakushuu felt in an environment he was familiar with, it wouldn't be false to assume Karma felt much more uncomfortable. Not that it mattered, however. After all, it wasn't any of the younger's concern. Why should he care? So saying, Gakushuu decided to relieve the other by a bit.

"Ah, no, it's quite alright. You can just seat yourself in the dining room. I'll plate your food and bring it to you," he stated, his eyes never leaving the pots in front of him.

In normal circumstances, Gakushuu would've made Karma pour food on his own plate, but the circumstances were anything but. Not to mention, Gakushuu felt as though he had to compensate for his earlier mood in some way, shape, or form, so it was the least he could do. Gakushuu could be considerate. Keyword: could.

"You sure?"Karma questioned.

"Yes."

"Alright then." He gave a slight nod before walking back into the dining room. After he left, Gakushuu released a breath he wasn't aware of holding. Honestly, how much longer did he have to go to be alleviated from this insufferable ambience? They were to share the same residence until their college years. Gakushuu would hate to imagine never being reprieved from this feeling.

It was only after he heard the sound of a chair being pulled back and then being sat in did Gakushuu switch his mind back to preparing dinner. He got out three plates and rinsed them along with an equivalent amount of spoons. He placed the spoons on their respective plates and waited for the pots to finish heating.

After a couple minutes passed, Gakushuu decided the pots were hot enough and twisted the knobs to their previous positions. He got out a scoop from one of the drawers, rinsed it, and started pouring rice in two of the three plates. As per usual, the patriarch would prepare his own plate.

After pouring curry on the two plates, Gakushuu picked them up and went out of the kitchen, being careful not to drop them. When he entered the room, he found that Karma was sitting in a particular seat. A very particular seat. A certain someone's particular seat. Before Gakushuu said anything, his eyes found the clock in the dining room (there was literally a clock in every room. Should the residents not have their phones or watches by their side, or should they not be able to read them at the time, there was always a clock to look at. And taking into account that the family heavily relied on time to do their daily work, the father and son thought it to be appropriate). It was past six, and the certain someone had a tendency to arrive at dinner at six o'clock sharp; he still had yet to make an appearance. How curious.

The man was most likely not coming, so Gakushuu decided not to say anything. Alternately, the teenager presented the other his plate of food and silently went over and sat himself in his own seat. As he began eating, Gakushuu found himself studying Karma. Currently, he had on a blank expression, almost dreamy.

Gakushuu began to recall that when he wasn't wearing that smile of his, he looked like that. Was the redhead also reflecting on the absurdity of the situation? Or was this his way of grieving? Was he even grieving? One would think he'd be sad and glum. Gakushuu found no signs of mourning anywhere near his eyes. Sure, his parents died a few days ago, but normal people with normal relationships with their normal parents would still cry even now, right? If it was pride that prevented him from crying, Karma had at least two hours to himself.

Then again, not everybody cried. Crying was not the only way to mourn, after all. Still, he seemed too comfortable with the losses. Not nearly as comfortable as Gakuhou, but nonetheless, comfortable. On the outside, anyway.

For the second time that day, Gakushuu was dragged back to reality by Karma's inquiries.

"Do you have a problem?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

Yes. Numerous.

"Ah. No, sorry," Gakushuu quickly replied, dropping his head down to stare at his plateful. He then raised his eyebrows, having realized something.

Having to compensate for lost time in his schedule, Gakushuu decided it would be best should he skip lunch. He wasn't feeling hungry even in the slightest then, so it had worked out for him. Knowing this, Gakushuu should've definitely felt hungry now, especially seeing that he had only eaten a few spoonfuls of his rice. He hadn't fed on anything for roughly 11 hours. Yet, he felt more full than he did hungry. He thought he'd at least finished around half his plate by now.

He blinked a few times before scrutinizing his plate. In order to make sure he was eating well, he would have to force all of that rice into his mouth. He shuddered. The experience was going to be less than pleasant. Swallowing down any reluctances he had, Gakushuu picked up a proper spoonful of the dish, placing its contents inside his mouth. Due to this reluctancy, the food became tasteless, the chewing a chore. It seemed as though it took forever until his throat decided it to be appropriate to finally ingest the now-paste. Needless to say, when he did swallow, it felt anything but desirable.

Gakushuu stared at his plate once again. He glanced up at Karma's and saw that the elder had finished around more than half by now. His amethyst orbs rested back on his plate, and he pondered as to when he would be done. He'd still more things to do before the night was over.