Try for Change (Coffee-Tastic and grizzly) [18+]

[Coffee-Tastic]

 

 

Name: Kou Ichikawa

Age: 18

Sexuality: Straight~ he hasn't gone into much depth of his sexuality

Hair: Light brown

Eyes: Hazel

Personality: Academically focused, Kou doesn't care much for having meaningful relationships because he knows he's going to be so great, he probably won't remember anyone anyways. He's very full of himself and can be arrogant when it comes to how great he thinks he is and how he views the people around him. He's doesn't see himself as awkward, but can make people around him feel that way from how robotic he gets from time to time.

Likes: Studying, reading, vanilla flavored things, being alone

Dislikes: Loud music playing when he's trying to focus, his brother, loud dogs, cats and birds chirping

 

---

 

Going on his way home after having a private meeting with the student counselor, Kou was more than bummed to have a giant responsibility put on him. She told him how his younger brother was on the border of being kicked out of school, Hiroto could have been taken away thought... if she hadn't told the principal that Kou could change his behavior. He understood that she believed that all students had the will power inside of them to succeed. But she didn't know Hiroto like he did. Kou hated to thought of having someone in his family that couldn't even finish school. He could foresee in the future when he was making serious money, it would he bis brother to ask him for money all the time and play a guilt trip if he refused. That wasn't something that he wanted to go through, so to save himself, he had to grab his moron of a brother out of the deep end and at least get him from being abandoned by the school.

 

Coming home to a parentless house, their father didn't come home until later and their mother was gone, remarried with another man a few years ago. Being without a mother wasn't too phasing for him personally. His mother acted like a girlfriend rather than an actual wife, he noticed, and she was kind of useless around the house. Just like Hiroto! Kou was more like his father, but smarter of course. He was a hard worker and is willing to do anything to get what was needed. Leaving his two sons at home most of the time? He had to work and pay the bills. Simple as that. Kou would do the same thing, so he couldn't complain that his father wasn't around too much. His only complaint was the fact that meant it would always just be himself and his younger brother home.

 

He'd always have to stay in his room in private, if Hiroto was nearby, he could never concentrate from pure aggravation. It was cruel to say, but Kou hoped that one day, Hiro would leave to go out with his friends and never come back home. He wouldn't miss him and instead of having to tell people his brother was a total punk loser, he could say he 'ran away to find himself' or anything else that would make it sound cooler.

 

For now... "Hiroto!" He called out loudly as he took the moment to take off his shoes, assuming he was somewhere since he didn't attend school today, "Did you know you were getting kicked out of school?!" A talk he didn't want to have... He didn't know how he was going to do this. His brother was a nothing. Hiroto would probably drop out of school all on his own eventually anyways... He had to try at least a bit. For his name.

[grizzly]

 

 

Name: Hiroto Ichikawa

Age: 17

Sexuality: Straight

Hair: Black

Eyes: Green

Personality: Always living on the edge, Tatsuo has associated himself with a band of misfits at his school. Though he is socially refrained, he is quick to make friends with his decent looks. He has a reputation of being a casanova from the many flings he had with girls in the past. He is also known for being a hothead, going off on anyone who triggers his wrath, especially when it comes to his brother.

Likes: Cigarettes, alcohol, girls, and piercings (has a couple on his left ear)

Dislikes: Clingy people, interactions with family, his brother, being told what to do

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Hiroto looked at the broad expanse of the city he lived in from the roof of his school. Holding a cigarette to his lips, he leaned against the rails and inhaled the smoke in steady intervals. Skipping class was a habit Hiroto never managed to break. His grades were beginning to suffer from it, but he didn't care. There wasn't a point in going to school anyways, not when he had his circle of friends to rely on. He even had a graduate hook him up with a position were he to ever drop out of school. Slinging dope didn't sound too bad, but he never thought about the consequences. After all, he was never stupid or lazy enough to get caught. He just lacked the motivation to do the right thing, simply because it was too boring.

 

Integrity was more of his older brother's strong suit. Just the thought of Kou made his head hurt. He could already hear him nagging him, like an overprotective mother. Though, Kou was never one to be protective over him. If anything, the two of them preferred to pretend the other didn't exist. It was easier that way. It made it easier to indulge in the things he did, such as sleep around with women and drink like his liver would never give out. He couldn't help but wonder if things would be different if their mother did stay.

 

He remembered his mother and how carefree she was. Despite being an awful caretaker, Hiroto loved her. He missed her with all of his being, and because of the loneliness he felt when she left, he turned to the comfort his countless girlfriends would give him.

 

When the last school bell rang, it shook Hiroto of such memories, prompting him to go home. He threw his hands into his pockets and did his best to avoid the teachers in the hallways. It was safe to say they did the same since they thought of the boy as nothing more than hopeless. When he had reached home, he was ready to take a nap and meet up with his friends in the city. There was a mixer that night and he heard there were a few cute girls from a nearby university going.

 

He relaxed on his bed and turned on his radio. Loud rock music filled his room and he pulled out his pack of cigarettes, feeling glum when he noticed he was running out. He took one of his last cigarettes and placed it firmly between his lips to light it as he relaxed in his bed. His room was a mess with his clothes tossed in a pile in a corner and manga laid around everywhere. It was nothing compared to Kou's room, which was spotless.

 

The music in his room was too loud for him to hear Kou, but he heard his brother's distinct voice and turned the volume down a little with a remote. Kou was bringing up the topic of school again, filling him with dread. Rolling his eyes, he tossed his head back and groaned. "Can't we talk about this another time?"

[Coffee-Tastic]

Kou came into the room and his face washed over with the look of disgust. Nothing was more sleazy than a bum laying on a bed smoking and listening to rock music. He was careful not to step on anything that looked radio active while making his way to the radio, shutting it off with a sigh of relief that the trash was out of his ears. There were no words to describe how much he disliked coming into this room. It smelled like nicotine and it was so messy not even a clean freak like him wanted to clean it up. He was also scared that there would be something he didn't want to see somewhere under the layer of Hiroto's junk. It never went away so he eventually stopped trying to tell him to clean up and avoided coming in here all together.

 

"No!" He said firmly, but soon squeezed his nose to keep from getting second hand smoke in his perfectly healthy body, "You're doing so horrible in school that the counselor begged me to help you! You're terrible, you know that? But I agreed anyways. I don't want to be related to a complete failure. So I'm going to tutor you." Kou felt like he sounded weird, so he waved the air around him instead so he didn't have to smell the smoke so heavily, "You don't have a choice to do this or not. She said that if I can't do it, then you literally can't come back to school. Literally. Seriously, do you have no shame for our name?"

 

The answer was probably no, but he wanted to feel like he was making him feel some patheticness. Putting shame on him never worked with anything before actually. It's like... It was like Hiroto accepted it! Hiro was so different from him, everything running through his younger brother's head was so taboo to him that he was scared to even imagine what was going through in it.

[grizzly]

Hiroto watched with dismal eyes as his brother entered his room. He really didn't want to deal with this right now, but if he ignored Kou, he would certainly throw a fit. So he flicked the ask collecting at the end of his cigarette into the ask tray on his nightstand before sitting up. "I don't care what the bitch says, I'm done with school." He hated the counselor at the school. She was always getting into his business and telling him that he was going to get nowhere in life. It was like a broken record hearing those words from his counselor, his father, and especially Kou.

 

Hiroto inhaled from his cigarette before blowing it into Kou's face. "Besides, didn't you say mom was a failure once? What harm could another useless relative be?" His voice was as bitter as the gin he would drink on the weekends. He wondered how much longer Kou would stay knowing how much he hated the smell of his cigarettes. He was a clean freak after all, always cleaning the house like some lonely housewife.

 

He looked over to his brother, hating how they shared a lot of the same features. He hated being bossed around by Kou, but it wasn't like he had any leverage on Hiroto. It wasn't like he could win in a fight with the boy either since he was always in school fights. There was nothing Kou could do to force him to do what he wanted, so it was futile to just walk in and make him do something as frivolous as studying. "And it's not like you can force me to. So do us all a favor and get the hell out of my room." He pointed with his jaw to the door behind him with a smirk.

[Coffee-Tastic]

He would say it again if he needed to. Their mother was a failure too... But she was a married to a good man who made money. She never had to do anything! Hiroto would never get married to a nice girl ever in his entire life, so he actually had to get his mess together. Coughing at the noxious smoke going to his face, Kou frowned and made a fist from his anger, "You-" He coughed in his elbow again, "You're already useless and nobody likes it. In the future, you'll say how you were wrong and you regretted being so utterly stubborn...!" He didn't think that there was anything he could say anymore, not because he just didn't know, it was because he didn't think it mattered. He'd just get greeted with another blow of smoke and he'd be gestured the door again.

 

No... His skin crawled. He couldn't have anyone else in his family be a sorry excuse for a functioning person. Grabbing his head and scratching his hair, he paced over to the other side of the room, again walking over anything questionable to him, "You're not done with school. Done say that," he sighed and let his hands fall at his sides, "Would you at least try if I promised to leave you alone for good? I won't come into your..." he cringed, "Your cave anymore, I won't nag you anymore. I won't do anything! Just let me help you. If it doesn't work out then never mind! Then you can quit school and do whatever you want to do with your life. Squabble at the bottom of the barrel all your life."

 

Kou looked at Hiro a bit more seriously, "You can't say no to something like that, can you? Come on. I really don't want to be related to more than failure. It's going to ruin my reputation in the future..." He looked to the side and mumbled with some attitude, "It'll ruin your reputation more though to be honest. Not like you'd care." What if... Hiroto was such a horrible person in the future, he'd be infamous. So infamous that it shatters Kou's hopes of being successful? The brunet has heard stories like that. It gave him shivers thinking if that became him one day all because he didn't try hard enough to help. Even if that meant promising that he'd shut up with him for good. That was even something that would be hard. Kou just always loved to tell Hiro how terrible he was. It was giving up a confidence booster.

[grizzly]

Hiroto shook his head, not liking where the conversation was going. It was going back to how he was useless, like always. At least he had the pleasure of seeing Kou suffering to the smoke. But it wasn't enough to satisfy him with the words that were spouting from his older brother's mouth. "Shut up, I don't want to hear it. It's always 'you're this-you're that'. It's really fucking annoying how you do this every chance you get, as if you'll erase me with your shitty words." He snuffed the cherry of his cigarette into the ash tray and stood up.

 

"Somehow I don't believe you when you say you'll leave me alone." He walked closer, his hands clenching into fists. It didn't matter if his knuckles were still bruised from the last fight he was in, if he was angry enough he'll continue to throw punches until he was the victor. It was how it always went anyways. It had been a long while since the last time the two of them fought with fists, but that didn't mean Hiroto would hold back. Their father still wasn't home, meaning there wouldn't be any intervention.

 

"Maybe until you offer something better than empty promises, you get the hell out of my room. Last chance. I don't care if my reputation gets hurt in the process, at least it'll mean there will be a chance it will hurt yours. And that's probably what you're so worried about, isn't it?" He lowered his head to try to calm himself down, but there was no point. Kou was just the trigger he needed to blow his top. He had known his brother's intentions the moment he had brought up school. He was always thinking of himself, which only made Hiroto more furious which was evident in the way he was baring his teeth. He might have considered trying in school if his brother had come to him out of pure concern, but that wasn't the case. It never would be the case.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Kou was never afraid of fighting his brother and he was never scared of him in general, so he didn't stand down. To him, when Hiroto resorted to his fists, that meant that he already gave up, that he was the one in the wrong. This was no different. "You're wrong that it's an empty promise, you're absolutely right that this matters to me... But this is your last chance too, Hiroto. You can be smart for once and use me to your own advantage and at least try to get the lowest grade acceptable to pass." Kou took a step closer himself, "I don't care if I'm pissing you off. You're the one pissing me off with being okay with this!"

 

"There's nothing about this that is even a bad thing! Teachers thought that maybe if you had another push, you'd have a chance at being something more meaningful than a punk! So just let me do it. Ignore what I want and think about your future for a change. You think you're going to be fine without something as little as a high school diploma? No! Only insane geniuses can do that and I'm not even one of those, so you certainly aren't one either, Hiro! Come back down to earth and stop being so incredibly dumb!"

 

He knew he was raising his voice more than he needed to here. Kou could already feel the pressure in his head from a headache coming... He could thank all of the smoke exposure for that as well as Hiroto... He was too frustrating. If he had the ability to do so, he'd love to knock him out with a punch as a lesson. Sadly for him, he wasn't that strong. He would fight though and he was ready for it. Just like an angry animal, his body puffed itself out to make himself look bigger and stared at his brother.

[grizzly]

He wanted to laugh in Kou's face with how defensive he was getting. He was even puffed up like some riled animal, but he didn't want to start a fight before his date. He had to keep up his good looks if he wanted to get with one of the girls, so he knew he had to resolve this dispute peacefully. Besides, Kou was right; Hiroto was being petty by resorting to violence. He never had the opportunity to prove himself, to prove that he was anything better than just a good for nothing delinquent. He bit his lip anxiously before turning around with his hands in the air. "You're a real bastard, you know that?" He turned on his heel and pointed a finger at his brother with furrowed brows. "I'll give it a shot, but don't expect it to be so easy." He had missed so many classes and lectures. How Kou could manage to bring him back to track is something beyond what he could comprehend, but he'll give it a chance. He'll give it a chance, because he actually wanted to do something productive for once.

 

"But I have somewhere to be tonight, so we'll continue this another time." He went to grab his jacket and looked at the clock next to his ashtray. The smoke covered the lens, making the red numbers hard to see, but he was still able to read it. If he didn't leave soon, he would be late. He didn't want to make his date upset, so he scurried to grab his keys and phone. He hoped Kou wouldn't interfere since he was running low on time.

[Coffee-Tastic]

The moment that he was told he'd get a shot, his frown turned upside down and his body loosened up quickly, "Great! This is great..." He took a deep breath and ended up coughing again from the nasty, air in the room. Hiroto was allowed to leave his his books now, even though he was either going somewhere he shouldn't or was going to hook up again. Sometimes the girls that he ditches show up at the house and ask to see him. Kou would do both of them the favor and politely tell her to leave or he'd get the dog to chase her away. Yeah, they didn't have a dog, but he'd say anything to leave them alone. If Hiroto wasn't such a heart breaker, this wouldn't even happen.

 

Following behind almost every step Hiro took, he put his hands behind his back and started to talk a whole bunch. "We'll start tomorrow, okay? Don't forget... I'll remind you though just in case... And where are you going? Is it with a girl? It's a girl I bet... Did you background check her? If you don't do that, I promise you, you'll get a sexually transmitted disease. You might get AIDS if you aren't careful. Do you know how bad that it? If you got that, then your 'reputation' really is ruined. I also don't want to be an uncle, don't forget that. Kids are the worst thing to have at your age, you should know that. So use protection unless you did do a background check on her and he's actually taking birth control. If thats the case, ask if she's been taking it for all the day she needs. If she ever missed a day, then it messes up the cycle and she could get pregnant." His mouth went on and on. It wasn't him being worried. It was him being the brother that didn't want his little brother to fuck up his life even more than he's been doing already.

[grizzly]

Hearing Kou's words of affirmation lifted his anger slightly. He never got much encouragement or praise from his family, but that was mainly because he never really did anything praise-worthy. He wondered if father knew about his situation and what he felt about it. He probably didn't care, or maybe he just was bad at showing his concern. Sounds a lot like his brother who takes a lot after his father. They were practically carbon copies of each other.

 

"Ok, that's fine with me," he responded while fixing his hair in a small mirror. He had thought about bleaching his hair, but he figured the two piercings on his left ear gave him trouble enough. He remembered Kou throwing a fit when he got them, exclaiming how they wre bound to get infected with how dirty his room was. But they came out just fine. When his brother started to rant, it filled him with embarrassment.

 

"Kou," he held his brother firmly by the shoulders before holding a finger to his mouth to shut him up. "I'm not going to get her pregnant and she's not going to give me some disease. You'll be surprised by how effective condoms are, brother." He held up one from his jacket pocket for emphasis and opened the door. "You're not jealous, are you?" He couldn't help but snicker. "Lemme guess, you're a virgin, aren't you? It's ok, I won't tell anyone." He left before Kou could reply, knowing it would further upset the boy.

 

Hiroto didn't return home until the next day around noon. He was grateful that it was the weekend, meaning he could sleep off his hangover, but he knew Kou would try to force him to study. He could foresee Kou hitting him with a ruler every time his eyes would wander and winced. It was hard enough thinking about Kou sober, it was ten times worst hungover. He opened the door to his house and hoped he could sneak off to his room for a short nap.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Kou hadn't expected to have the tables turned and get any questions himself. Especially not ones like that. He wasn't jealous that he was still a virgin, he only felt flustered because he wasn't able to fire shots back at Hiroto. He didn't need to be having sex. The best pleasure he could receive from a lady was only when he was in class and the teacher was a female. Knowledge was his pleasure... And now he was glad that he wasn't able to respond back just so that didn't come out his mouth. It sounded pathetic in his head even for him. It was true though... He steamed away like an angry chicken by going to the kitchen to make some food for himself and for dad when he got back.

 

With the house to himself, he took the opportunity to let his phone play his favorite classical music numbers. When he listened to his own music, not Hiro's audio trash, Kou felt so at peace and happy. Hiroto was gone, he finished making homemade spaghetti and meatballs, his music was playing, he had his favorite book in his hands... "Why couldn't I have been the only child?" Sighing gently to himself, he shook his head. Kou was glad that his dumbo, bad boy brother agreed to the proposal. It was the first smart decision he's seen him take in a long time.

 

That night, he went to sleep still alone. His personal curfew for bed time was 10:30pm on the dot unless there was something going on. It was a Friday night and yes, his bedtime had still applied. Strict on bedtime, he was the same for the mornings, waking up before the rooster at 6:00 am. The crazy thing was that even if his alarm didn't work for whatever reason, he'd still always wake up at that time... This was one way that Kou was programmed like a robot. For the whole morning, he read his textbook review and picked up that book from yesterday again. His music was on again so he couldn't hear his brother coming back into the house... Unfortunately for his younger brother, Kou came out of his room to refill his cup of water just when Hiroto was sneaking.

 

"Oh, you're back... Its noon, you know. And were you trying to sneak off and pretend you were never here?" Kou shook his head and came up to him, taking his shoulder and bringing him to the kitchen, "I'd know if you were here or not if you succeeded. I just know... By the way. I hope you got AIDS because of that comment from yesterday." He narrowed his hazel eyes while filling up the cup, shoving it into Hiroto's hand. He smelled like booze so he could only assume he was hungover. "Youre not going to bed. You drink that and get better because I said we're starting today."

[grizzly]

Just his luck that Kou just so happened to be there. He was half expecting Kou to be sitting in the armchair, flipping on the lamp to confront him. But it would be less dramatic since it was too bright with it being noon and all. He was tempted to just walk back out, knowing if he retreated to his room, Kou would be hot on his trail. But he had nowhere to go since the girl he was with only lived in a girls only dormitory. He squeezed the bridge of his nose with his fingers and sighed. It could be worst he thought, he could be vomiting all over himself and wishing he was dead. Right now all he had was a slight headache that wasn't from Kou for once, and he could handle that much.

 

"Wow, that truly hurt me," he held a hand to his chest with false exasperation. "Why do I have such a mean brother?" He moved over to grab the glass of water, not even muttering a thanks as he chugged the thing whole. "And jokes on you," he replied while putting the glass in the sink. "No AIDS from what I can tell." He pushed past Kou and walked in the direction of his room.

 

He stretched out his arms to assuage the stiffness in them then turned to Kou to say, "I'm going to take a shower. I'll meet you in your room when I'm done." And to give Kou some comfort, he added, "And I'm not going to sneak off to my room. Might as well get this tutoring thing started with."

 

He grabbed a soft towel from the cabinet and moved to grab a change of clothes from his room. It was still a mess, so studying in here would not work. Kou wouldn't want to stay in the room either, mainly because of the smell of smoke that is forever stained in it. He entered the pristine bathroom and winced at the brightness coming from the overhead light. Looking in the mirror, he saw dark circles around his light green eyes. There was a hickey right at the collar of his neck which gave him a smile. The girl he met last night was gorgeous with amazing breasts. He still had her number on his phone and was bound to get a bunch of texts from her. Older girls sure were something he thought while undressing to get in the shower.

 

When he was done, he dried himself up and threw on some shorts and a plain shirt. He also threw on a hoodie, hoping it would cover the hickeys on his neck, knowing Kou would bring up AIDS or some other ridiculous disease again. He tossed the dirty clothes that reeked of alcohol and smoke into the laundry hamper and walked over to Kou's room. He hesitated momentarily to knock on the door, but he gulped and mustered the courage to. It had been so long since he had been in Kou's room after he found out he was stealing money from him. But that was years ago, giving him more reason to be nervous. "Kou?"

[Coffee-Tastic]

If Hiroto had gone back into his room, he'd only get bothered twice as hard... but he appreciated being let known he was going to be an honest boy for now. Kou let him take a shower and take his time. He still had his leisure reading he wanted to do still after all. Though, he did turn down the music because he wasn't sure if the music would be enough to distract him or not, so now at the beginning, he'd be working in silence with his younger brother. If he had any complaints, Hiroto can send them directly to PO Box I Don't Care.

 

Being truthful, Kou forgot how he stole his money and didn't remember until looking at a quarter that was on his desk. He didn't think that Hiroto was going to do it again considering that ever since he had done it, he's never gone back into his room for any reason. Not that he knew of... But Hiro knocked. Such polite behavior was shocking to Kou. Shocking but appreciated. The brunet didn't keep his money in obvious places anymore so, again, he didn't sweat it. If his little brother was seen going into thinks he should be, that did give Kou permission to secretly set a fire in his dump of a room. Kou wouldn't be surprised if one day something ignited in there for real.

 

Opening the door as he would for any other reason, he stepped to the side to let his brother in. "Come in and sit at my desk... Go on. Take a look at this room... It's clean and it has fresh air in it... you could have something like this too if you cared enough about your room's appearance." Kou gestured the floor with a fake sense of wonder, "Do you see that? Yeah. It's exactly what you think it is. The floor. Isn't it amazing? You've probably never seen the floor of your room in ages. Think of all the space to walk around with a clean floor? Are you imagining it? I bet you are." His sarcasm was so strong in his words that it could capsize a boat. "... Anyways. It's clean. We'll be working in here and I don't want you bringing any of your mess anywhere near my floor. You probably don't understand. I clean here once every two days. Don't... mess... it. Up..."

 

Kou closed the door, gaining a small smile out of the blue, going towards his bookcase for the book he was going to use for his 'lesson' plan. He had gotten a copy of a test prep book with sample tests and explanations in the back for aid. He thought that this was the best way to get Hiroto to get on board because there was a wide variety of questions on specific subjects. His editions including earth science, algebra, geometry, writing, ect... For now, he picked out the easier book, one that would be a good start. Reading. He hoped that his brother had at least a tenth grade level of reading though, or else it might not be so easy. "We're starting off with reading comprehension." He announced, pulling the book out of the shelf.

[grizzly]

Hiroto sheepishly entered the room. His gaze wondered over to the bookshelf, skimming over all the variety of books Kou had stowed away. It seemed like there wasn't a single speck of dust in the room, and he would be lying if he said the room didn't smell good. He sincerely hoped they would just go straight to studying, but knowing Kou, that wasn't going to happen. He felt calm when he was ushered in, then came the barrage of sarcasm. His nostrils flared when he huffed as he went to sit down. Just calm yourself, it'll be over before you know it he repeated to himself. No sense in getting upset over a few sardonic words.

 

"Imagining my foot up your ass," he muttered low enough that even a mouse couldn't hear. He rolled his eyes and retorted, "I won't mess it up if all we're doing is reading." He leaned back onto his palms, waiting for Kou to place the books in front of him. Reading wasn't the best subject for him, but it certainly wasn't the worst; that would have to be math. He wondered how much patience Kou actually had to tutor him. For all he knew, it could be something that sounded better in theory. He could already picture Kou pulling at his hair for every mistake he was bound to make. Such a thought made a small smirk tug on his slightly chapped lips.

 

"I remember when you first tried teaching me to read when we were kids. That didn't last long, wonder how it'll go now," he quipped. He rested his head in his hand on the table and flipped through the book with distaste. Booooring. Why didn't he have something better to read? He looked back at the book shelf to see if there was anything better, but no dice. Then he looked over to Kou's bed. Does he hide porn mags there? With him being a super virgin, no doubt.Eventually Kou snapped him out of his thoughts and he straightened up, ready to hear whatever cynical words he had to say.

 

(I love Kou so far lmao)

[Coffee-Tastic]

He sure remembered when they were kids. Hiroto was even more embarrassing to be around because he was the special one that liked the taste of glue and play-dough. Kou wasn't sure if he actually liked to eat it or if he liked doing it because he wasn't supposed to do it. Either way made sense to him.

 

Watching him, Kou's eyes squinted slightly when he flipped through the pages of the book like if it was boring... Well, he couldn't think that Hiroto would ever find education interesting the same way he did. Nobody in the whole school matched his thirst for knowledge. Kou cleared his throat loudly and stood beside his younger brother, "Nothing around the room is going to help you do this. If you forgot how things worked, let me assist you." With a straight face, he went to the introductory page and pointed at the first word of the paragraph, "There. You start there and read on from there. The introduction is important to read, even in a review book. Read it out loud if you think that'll help you. If there are any words you don't know how to pronounce, say it slowly and sound it out. If you do that, I'll be able to pronounce it for you. Then you repeat the word as well. Then you proceed."

 

"Its easy. This isn't even the part where you have to figure out answers to the questions yet." And oh boy, how that will be fun to go through with Hiroto... It won't be easy to do this for sure, but it was necessary. So far, he thought he was doing a good job explaining what he needed to do. The student counselor has suggested that he tutor other students, but he refused because he didn't like anyone enough to spend time with them. That was Hiroto basically, but he wanted to help him. He needed to learn how to be schooled. Kou was happy to be able to school him!

 

 

(^///^ Thanks! I'm simply adoring Hiroto

[grizzly]

Somehow, he felt as though he was being patronized. Sure, he wasn't the top of his class, far from it actually. But that didn't mean he was as dumb as everyone made him out to be. He was only dumb when it came to his personal life choices, but when it came to academics, he was rather good if not mediocre. He would never be able to compare to Kou, who thirsted after books more than he thirsted after girls. He wasn't even sure if Kou was into girls. Maybe he gets hard-ons when he's left alone with his books.

 

"I'm pretty sure I can handle it," he answered. Hiroto managed to read through the entire introduction in a monotone voice. He didn't make a mistake when it came to pronouncing the words, but he did have a habit of rushing through the words too fast that he didn't comprehend what he just read. He was reading just for the sake of reading, not to take in the information himself. It was because of the pressure he felt around Kou. He felt like he had to prove himself to the point that it was directly affecting his concentration, He was glad they stopped going to piano lessons as kids, because there have been too many occasions where Hiroto croaked under the pressure of performing at their recitals.

 

Eventually there did come a word that he had no idea even existed. He felt the tips of his ears burning out of embarrassment as he tried to pronounce the word, knowing Kou would pick up on his ignorance. "Ono-uhhh. Ono-matt-oh-pee-ah?" He tilted his head as he read aloud the definition. "A noun; the formation of a word, as cuckoo, meow, honk, or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent. I don't see why I need to know this." Hiroto mumbled and hid his face in his hands in frustration.

[Coffee-Tastic]

With a bland voice, it was clear to him that Hiroto didn't get anything from the introduction... How sad, yet expected. But then things got more interesting when his brother got to the part where he finally got embarrassed for not knowing something. It was adorable to be standing up and watching Hiro in frustration below him... "Onomatopoeia," he said the word he had trouble with, "You don't? This word is something you would have known in middle school. And we're in high school. Imagine how much more frustrated you'd be getting when you're in your thirties and you don't know how to say something that means a sound written out?" With a laugh, he pulled his hands off his face and pointed at the word again, "Say it correctly. It's one of my favorite words because it sounds rather silly. Don't you think? Onomatopoeia."

 

No sarcasm in his voice... no attitude... Kou loved learning and he might not admit it, but this was a form of that. One can only be the best at a topic if he can explain and pass it on to someone else. The person in his chair had pages empty inside that needed to be filled up for his own good. He was starting look past his original desire of keeping honor to the Ichikawa name and was going more into the his actual love for education.

 

"And also, there's a lot more other words that will make you even more frustrated that you might not know. That's why we're going over this and that's why it's important to make sure we go over every page and keep the level of understanding at a high."

[grizzly]

Hiroto peered through the cracks of his hands with a fierce glare. "I didn't pay attention much in middle school," he defended himself while slamming his hands on the table. His face felt hot, meaning he was blushing furiously. He probably looked like a ripe strawberry, making him feel more ashamed. Kou was never supposed to see this part of him... Again. He didn't even want to remember any other awful memories of their youth, knowing it would only mean more embarrassment to top of what he was feeling now.

 

"I think I'm done for the day." Or better yet, for the rest of eternity. He had enough mockery coming from Kou to last a lifetime. How did he expect to redeem himself to his brother? It should've been clear from the start that it was impossible. He'd rather bully some kid at school into tutoring him instead of his ass of a brother. Hell, it feels like Kou had this planned from the start. It did look like he was tormenting him. He always was a sadist when it came to messing with Hiroto. There was only one person that could make him feel more insignificant than a cockroach, and that was Kou. Damn Kou.

 

"Try to stop me and I might vomit all over your room," he warned. Though he was clearly lying since he wasn't feeling nauseous at all from his hangover. He had an iron stomach as a result of eating nothing but junk food.

[Coffee-Tastic]

"What? You've got to be joking!" He complained, crossing his arms, "You only read the introduction and you only learned one thing. Thats not going to cut it. I wanted you to do at least five more pages before you were allowed to take a ten minute break." He wasn't playing around about that either. "And don't even use that as a threat, I told you that you don't understand. Bad things will happen to to if you get any filth on my territory." Kou was super serious about every word, but he kept smiling... Hiroto was actually blushing. How adorable... He must be feeling so pathetic... So cute... Thats what he gets for neglecting his education for such a long time. He had no pity for his brother.

 

"You know I said we were going to start tomorrow. Tomorrow as in not for a few minutes. Not as in half an hour. I meant tomorrow as most of the day," okay, this part may not be so true, "And you walked in the house so late in the day after being god knows where all night. I'm trying to haul you, Hiro. You need to... 'step up your game' as they say. You can do that, can't you? Yes you can. So don't be shy and blushy like that."

[grizzly]

"I'm not blushy, I'm just feeling a bit sick s'all." He sat back down and crossed his arms across his chest. He hated being condescended by his older brother, but that was a feeling other younger brothers can share with him. And Kou did speak some words of truth. He wouldn't have to go through this if he only studied and did whatever students did. But it was just so damn boring. He could simply die from boredom if not shame. He desperately needed that small break if it meant the rest of his day would consist of him getting ridiculed by his brother.

 

"So five more pages, then break?" He asked with a sliver of hope lining his words. He was itching for a smoke and it was showing in the slight twitch in his fingers that held his pencil. "I'll do my best if you just lay off the shitty comments, you can't expect me to be an expert after I just now exposed myself to this stuff." He continued to read aloud the pages, rushing through them again, but trying his best to retain the information. He knew that there was bound to be some sort of quiz or recap at the end of the chapter, so it was best to take his time and take it all in than go through a bunch of trials and errors with Kou hounding him.

 

"When will dad be back?" He asked with disdain tainting his voice. He pretended to not care about his father, but the question said otherwise. He rarely saw his father, and when he did, he always a look of disapproval. Sounds familiar... He looked at Kou with a pout, wondering how they were related at all.

[Coffee-Tastic]

"Hey!...Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked, pouting back at him with one of his eyebrows raising, "I don't know when he's coming back. Probably around 10 maybe? He told me that he was starting to have a longer schedule on Saturday as well. I say let him work. Working hard for us night and day? That's amazing. I'd run down if I worked as much as he did." He uncrossed his arms and went to his bed, picking up his book since it looked like Hiroto didn't seem like he was going to make a break for it anymore. With their father, he's seen with his own eyes the disapproval their dad had with Hiroto. Kou felt like that had apart to contribute with his brother's behavior never stopping. At the same time, it was his darker haired brother that started it.

 

His father didn't show up to him either much, though unlike his brother, dad was proud of him. Kou always brought home awards for his good work in school, proving to be the son that will soar high and be able to take care of him well when he got old. Kou... didn't thirst for approval from him honestly. He got more praise from teachers and getting special treatment for being the top student in the grade. Flipping to his saved bookmark, the brunet tried to bring it back to the studies, "And it's not just any break for your information. It's a ten minute break. Just enough time for you to quench your addiction to your death sticks, eat a snack or... If you said you'd spend your break cleaning your room, you can take however long you need as long as it gets finished. I don't see that, however... sadly."

[grizzly]

"What. A. Guy," Hiroto said while rolling his eyes. He appreciated his father's efforts on feeding his family and giving them a decent home. But he wished they had lived in better conditions with a complete family. Though he obviously can't get everything he wanted. Being in Kou's room studying made sure of that. It was easier to hate his family than to own up to his mistakes, so he kept the distance between him and his family greater than he wanted to admit.

 

"If my room bothers you that much, why don't you clean it yourself? You're welcome to come in and be my maid for the day, free of charge." Hiroto bit the inside of his cheek and returned to reading his book. One day he will clean his room, when he has the motivation to do so. With Kou nagging him about it all the time, it saps his will to clean it. Hiroto was bothered by the mess, but he was always out of the house that it didn't matter. Plus, it doesn't help that he partially kept it dirty just to spite Kou. It made it easier to keep the boy out of his room.

 

"Anyways," he began to jot down notes from the current page, "can you shut up and teach me already?" The teachers were bad at lecturing him, but Kou brought it to a whole new level. Did he plan on being a teacher? Eh, he was better suited as a housewife with how much he loved cleaning and nagging.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Hiroto's room did bother him that much. The only thing stopping him from putting gloves on and going in there was, again, the fear of what was in there. He didn't want to say this ever, but he would actually do it if Hiroto said he'd help, because he could deal with the mysteries and the horrors that were probably in there. Except when he was being an ass, calling him a maid, then he didn't want to do it no matter what.

 

He looked up from is book to glance at his brother, "I'm here to help you, don't get me wrong. But look at you. You're writing things down and I didn't even tell you to do it... This review book is really good and no teacher can be better than the words on a page. If you have any questions or want me to give an explanation, just ask me." Kou could have said more, but he held his tongue because if he bothered his brother too much, he felt like he'd just quit. He wanted to let him know that when he tried to explain and encourage him for saying that big word, he caused a fuss. "When you get to the questions, though, then I'll tell you how to handle it. For reading questions, its good to cover the multiple choice and try to answer it without them. Usually when you do that and the answer is there in the end, it's correct... This actually works with all multiple choice. You'll understand more when we keep going on through the subjects."

[grizzly]

Hiroto nodded as he listened to his brother talk to him. "Yeah, I know," he said with a sigh. It really wasn't that hard-the work. He was just always too lazy to actually sit down and read it all, to teach himself. Now that he was actually studying, he kept to himself and read through the rest of the pages aloud. There were a few more times where he reached out to Kou for help, but it went much more smoothly than the first time. He ignored the shame since it really wasn't anything to get riled up over. Better to get it over with now than years off into the future when it wouldn't matter.

 

He was grateful that his brother reached out to him, but he was also dreading the awkward ambiance they shared in the room. When was the last time they stayed together for more than a minute? He wouldn't mind going back to his room to read the material on his own, because he was more than capable of doing that on his own. But there was something comforting about being in the presence of his older brother, granted he wasn't calling him names as usual. "Thank you though," he muttered while writing down another note.

 

When he reached the questions, he took his time answering them, already feeling anxious as he could imagine more than half of them being wrong. The material wasn't that hard to cover since it was only the introduction, but Hiroto just did not perform well under any bit of pressure. In reality, it would be safe to say he did just fine on the quiz, but Hiroto was feeling anything but fine. The hangover didn't help as it was making his migraines worst. He was definitely looking forward to that nap he was supposed to take when he snuck in.

[Coffee-Tastic]

"Welcome." He said casually, but hearing the thank you drove away his concentration from his book very quickly. There wasn't any sarcasm or attitude when he said it either. The fact that it was in a mutter made it even more believable that it was pure. When was the last time when he was meaningfully thanked for something? Kou didn't even have another instance in mind where this has happened... he brought the book closer to his face to give an attempt of hiding his smile. Was it considered corny to be happy to get a thank you? Hiroto probably thought it was.

 

In the silence of his 'reading' and his brother's working, his smile went away, but he still felt happiness for himself. Maybe this little experience did more for him and his selfish reasons... Looking at Hiroto again, he watched him read and write down his answers for the questions, closing his book again and coming closer to be able to see how he was doing. The questions were based off of basic knowledge, so from what he was seeing, he was doing a good job. It did look like he erased some answers and re wrote them, but the things he re wrote were the correct answers.

 

Thinking that the troubled look on Hiroto's face was because of the stress of working his brain for the first time, Kou thought about giving a bit of encouragement. Behind him, he moved his hand to maybe pat his shoulder... he moved his hand back though. Maybe he should pat his hair? Ruffle his head? That was weird, right? Kou blinked and went with patting Hiroto on his head, going for a more playful take on praise, "You're answers are right so far, good job... I might give you a longer break as a... reward! Yeah. That sound good?"