𝗢𝗢𝗚𝗢𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗗────── k. aren x original character

𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐞

kotoe was extra early that day—she was extra early to wake up, extra early to shower, and extra early to pack her school bag.

she was sure that kusuo was secretly cursing her in his mind—waking up and going to sleep at the same time was a little habit that the both of them developed. perhaps it was what people would call "twin telepathy"; kotoe couldn't really care less.

her mind was too busy tipping her toes down the stairs, gripping the school bag—not tennis bag, as she had no practice that day—so tightly that her knuckles surely had turn white.

"what are you doing?"

kotoe nearly shrieked, hands catching the handle of the stair before she could leap to her death. behind her was kusuo, still in his pajamas.

"shh—" she raised a finger up on her lips, waving her other hand around as her eyes widened in panic. "don't let dad hear you—remember in middle school with my first boyfriend!?"

kusuo wanted to point out that she was making a lot of noise despite whispering, but as his mind flashed back to their father creeping up on kotoe the moment he found out that she had a boyfriend, kusuo decided that it's best for him to not say anything.

he had to call up the cops on his own father—kusuo and kotoe had never been more embarrassed all their life.

"are you going to school?" he asked again through his telepathy, though kotoe was sure that he sent it only to her this time.

kotoe nodded.

"i'm going to go with you," kusuo said with a nod, raising one hand. "give me three minutes."

and at that instant, he was gone.

three minutes to teleport back to his room, get ready, and then go back to her.

kotoe blew a breath of cold air out her mouth, placing her hand on her chest. of course kusuo would understand—best brother of the year award goes to him!

wait, kotoe shook her head, resting her back against the wall. that would mean she was forgetting kusuke. she closed her eyes, fingers brushing her chin as she wondered which of her brothers was worthy of taking the "best brother of the year" award.

while she did love kuusuke, kusuo has helped her get out of uncountable, awful situations.

perhaps kuusuke could take "best brother", while she could give kusuo "best twin".

as her mind settled on that decision, she opened her eyes. . . only to see a flicker of figure from the corner of her peripheral vision.

her heart pounded against her chest, and to be honest, kotoe didn't want to look at whoever—or whatever—it was, but her reflexes beat her to it.

on the very bottom of the stairs, amongst the darkness of five thirty in the morning, was saiki kuniharu with his eyes bloodshot and cheeks tapered; eyebags were under his eyes as if he hadn't slept for a full week.

"d—dad?" kotoe asked, half worrying for her father and half worrying for herself.

she got a feeling that whatever mischief her father was up to that morning, it had something to do with her.

"kotoe—" his voice sounded like a zombie. a sudden shiver flared up kotoe's back, heartbeat so loud that she could hear the blood running in her veins. "—you were going to run away from the house, right?"

perhaps, if his state was a manga trope, he could be described as a yandere. kotoe trembled.

"did you sleep?" she skillfully dodged his question by averting his attention towards her attentiveness. "your eyes look tired. . ."

he nodded, "i was up all night. . . making sure you stay here—at home."

the aura around him suddenly turned vicious—like a hunter looking at its prey.

"uhm," kotoe looked up, wondering when kusuo was going to appear. "that's nice, dad. . . thanks for caring for me. . ?"

the father nodded, still offering her his maddening smile. one of his foot stepped on to the first step of the stairs.

kotoe's reach back to the step above her.

his other foot stepped on the second one, and kotoe mimicked him.

just as he was in the middle of taking the third step, kotoe turned around when she heard kusuo's footsteps.

"i came as soon as i could," he said, and though his face was still flat, she could recognized the panic on his eyes.

kusuo grabbed her by her hand, hurriedly pushing their father aside. as kuniharu called out to them, he pulled her down the stairs and out the door—who knows why it was unlocked in the first place.

"that was scary," kotoe whispered, kusuo only stopping after they were a good few feet from the house.

while protective, kuniharu was still rather lazy. he seemed to can't even move his feet outside the perimeters of their house to chase after them.

"thanks kusuo," she rubbed the back of her neck, and kusuo shook his head.

"he was stupid," was his concluding statement; and to be honest? kotoe couldn't disagree.

"what do you say we run away from home, kusuo?" as the morning breeze hit their faces, kotoe started their morning conversation with a sigh. the two started walking, dark sky turning orange, then into a blue horizon.

kusuo spent a few moments without answering, before eventually shaking his head. "no, i'll miss mom."

the face of their mother flashed before kotoe's mind.

"ah, you're right."

ㅤ　　

author's note ┃
hi guys!! sorry for the late update—uni has been killing me 😖 i wanted to update sooner but i was just super tired :^( anyways, as always, thank you for reading ^__^