Haru X Reader

17

           Haru noticed you first. His eyes widened at the sight of you and your name fell out of his mouth along with a sigh of relief. He took a step to softly but firmly place his hands on your shoulders. His dark, worry filled, oceanic eyes scanned your face, lingering on your lips, and then met your gaze. Neither of you said anything for what felt like forever. His irises gave you the same feelings as the sea at night did. Safe. Calm. Peaceful. Serenity washed over you and the feeling of love swelled in your chest. He cared about you. Concern was clear in his voice as he questioned, "Are you okay? I saw you leave and I -"

"She's fine." Kiko said, pushing his way between you. Your heart sank. That was a something special about to happen. Kiko's over protectiveness was great when you felt sick, but now you wished he would tone it down. You wanted to defend Haru but instead of speaking you became lightheaded. Your legs grew weak and you stumbled back a little. Kiko's strong arms wrapped around you immediately. His eyes met yours and you could see the fear. You felt bad for worrying him, but you didn't do it on purpose.

"If you had let her speak we would have known she wasn't fine." Haru said bluntly. He looked at you for only a moment before looking away. You noticed his hand twitching, making a fist and releasing. Then his thumb brushing across each finger.

Kiko's right hand tightened it's grasp. He turned away from you and faced Haru.
"Don't tell me I don't know how to take care of my own sister!" He spat. Haru's eyes widened in surprise. You so badly wanted to stop Kiko, Haru was only trying to help, but you couldn't make a sound. The tension between the two boys was thick and growing.

You took a quick look around your small circle. Kiko's hand tight around your arm, his face twisted in anger. His twin standing across from him behind Haru, with Makoto. Both of them held shocked looks upon their faces. Rei and Nagisa a few feet over, their conversation paused to watch whatever was about to happen. You were reminded Kou was not here. Then of course, your gaze fell onto Haru.

Something was different about him now. You knew Haru to be a calm boy, who didn't really focus on much except for swimming. He was gentle and avoided conflict. Yet he didn't back down from this argument. His demeanour has shifted. His usual laid backness had become bolder, and he seemed standoffish. It was a reasonable reaction towards Kiko's hostility, but it was still odd to see Haru like this. You couldn't lie to yourself, it was a little hot.

Haru was standing up straight and his shoulders were pushed back. His shirt was already off, and his muscles were intimidating but you didn't feel threatened. Somehow you felt safer than ever. You caught his eye for only a brief second but the colour seemed so much darker. No longer that serene water, now it felt more like the dark depths of the ocean. A chill went down your spine.

           "If you know how to take care of her why is she sick?" Haru raised his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side, waiting for Kiko to answer. It was so unlike Haru, you wondered for a moment if maybe you were in an awful fever dream? But Kiko's grip got too tight and you winced in pain. Definitely not dreaming.

You could feel your brother shaking with anger. He took a sharp breath. You noticed his eyes were welling up with tears. "Tsukiko?" You said in a hoarse whisper, just barley audible. You learned that your throat was beginning to become sore and scratchy. He ignored you completely.

You didn't expect Kiko to be so quiet with his next words. Luckily, everyone was in a stunned silence. "Don't you dare." Nobody reacted. Kiko's eyes narrowed and he took a deeper breath and squeezed your arm once again. This time he raised his voice. "Don't you dare tell me I'm not taking care of my sisters well enough! It's none of your damn business. You should leave (Y/N) alone already." He snarled.