𝘉𝘖𝘕𝘋𝘚 | ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒ

fifty five

+

I stared at the man open-mouthed, the breath and words caught in my throat. They tangled together, preventing from spilling out. Like a ball of tangled string, with no telling where the end of the beginning was. The hand previously wrapped around my chopsticks went slack, falling into the empty bowl with a gentle clatter. I was shell shocked... could it be Hajime? As in... the older brother I had seen in the memory?

Swallowing, I scooted away from him, brow's furrowing in suspicion. He frowned at my lack of excitement and attempted to reach out to me. Before he could lay a finger on me, I jerked away, staring at him with a baffled expression.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

He stared at me as if I had grown two heads. He didn't seem to know what to say for a second, before he flashed a small grin, though it was anything but innocent. Seemed pretty damn cheeky to me. "I haven't even said anything about how I know you yet. If anyone is jumping to conclusions here, it would be you, imouto."

I flinched. "Don't call me that. At least... not until I know that you are... him."

"Wait, you remember me?" He turned his body to fully face me in his seat, eyes going wide in excitement at the promising information. He made a move to reach for me again, and I didn't get the opportunity to dodge his grabby hands. Throwing them on my shoulders, he gripped me tightly and shook my entire frame, grinning widely. "This is great! I knew you could have been in Kumo somewhere... but I didn't know that you remembered me!"

I shoved his hands off my shoulders and gave him a dirty look. "Hey, hey, no touching. Alright? I don't like the touchy-feely stuff for no reason. So even if you do turn out to be my brother... that doesn't mean you get to throw me around like a rag doll, or treat me like... a personal hug machine."

Hajime grinned, removing his hands from my shoulders. I felt a sense of relief go through me, only for it to be knocked out of my body. He slammed his hand onto my back in what seemed to be an affectionate pat. But it felt like anything but as I coughed and lurched over the counter.

Jeez... why was this guy so rough? I wasn't like this at all... pfft.

I shot him a dirty look, pushing myself away from the empty bowl so I wouldn't break it or something on accident. Reaching my hand over and rubbing my opposite shoulder, I sighed heavily, shaking my head. "...So what proof do you got that you're Hajime? I need more than just the name."

He leaned over the counter, a perplexed look on his face. "I don't know what I'm supposed to tell you. There's a lot of things I could tell you about myself, but I don't think it would make you believe I am your brother."

I looked off to the side for a moment, racking my brain for anything that would make me believe this guy in the first place. Even if he did say something or do something to confirm the fact he was my brother... what would... what would that even mean? He was a shinobi to a different village. The Kohana he knew as a kid isn't the same one I am not. Would he want me to come back to Iwa with him? No matter how much he begged, I would never do such a thing. So what... what good would finding out he was my brother do?