Chapter Text
PAST
Aunt Ayame had a lot of rules.
This was the first thing he learned, upon the first week of living with his Aunt at the mansion. She had a lot of rules, a lot of demands and a lot of standards. And above all, she demanded utmost obedience and respect regarding nearly all aspects of interactions concerning both them, and her.
Akiteru learned, within the first week, that the estate had only five maids and helpers, Kumi-san being the youngest, and that they worked all day and night around the house, from as early as sunrise till as late as the star dusted night. He learned the house was bigger than he thought, and that there were some places neither he, nor his little brother were allowed to go through. He learned that his Aunt required they dress up before getting to the dining room, and that they be escorted by a maid around the house, never to be left fully alone to their own devices at any time of the day.
He learned they were to never step outside the gates.
Akiteru learned a lot of things upon one entire week, learned a lot of rules and did his best to make sure he followed each and every one of them to his Aunt’s liking. However, the one law that constantly elicited the agitation continuously poking against his chest every hour of each passing day was the last and very final one.
No matter what, you are to never step outside.
He’d never understood why the rule had been lain down. Even now, a week afterwards, as he stared through the topmost windows of the upper floor, overlooking the estate and all its lavish greenery, hands folded atop the window sills and chin rested above them, his mind could only wonder back to the last conversation he’d had with Aunt Ayame. The cold of her voice and finality of her words still resonated within his head.
“I will not allow it.” She’d stared him down, odious, amber eyes that too strongly resembled his looking as though he was nothing but a smudge against her perfectly cleaned shoes, her gloved hands that touched no one but herself delicately holding her purse, a maid holding open the door, patiently waiting for her mistress to step out of the building. “As long as you are living under my roof, you will do as I say. Am I understood?”
“But Oba-sama—”
“Am I understood, Akiteru?”
And Akiteru could only remember looking at her in silent, perceived dejection, tears nearly stinging the back of his eyes, hands clenched at his sides, but otherwise saying nothing more, relenting and bowing in resignation. He’d muttered an “I understand,” right before she left, relishing only momentarily in the fact that her eyes were no longer trained on his person.
He was pulled gently out of his thoughts by a small tug against the side of his trousers, veering his attention away from the gardener mowing the outside field, and on to the little, three-year old Tsukishima by his side, small hands rubbing against large eyes as though he’d just woken up from sleep.
But at around 9:00AM, that had most likely been the case.
“Oh… Kei, good morning!” Akiteru turned, lifting his lips into a smile and putting a hand atop the younger’s head. “You’re finally awake, huh?” He slightly ruffled his blonde locks. “Come on,” he grabbed onto his brother’s hand, leading him away from the window and towards the room’s exit. “Let’s find Kumi-san and get you dressed. Then we’ll go outside and play, okay?” he stated, referring to the gardens out at the front. The previous day, the both of them had found a school of fishes hidden in a tiny cave in the pond, and Kei liked it when they’d gathered around the flakes of fish food one of the maid’s had given them. “Surugata-san got some really good fish food! They’ll be really happy when you give it to them don’t you think?”
“Yeah!” Kei brightened, nodding and then squeezing the hand holding his, his steps hastening in pace.
Today, Aunt Ayame had preferred the solace of her office and had chosen not to step out of the house, the upper echelons of the mansion completely comprised of the woman’s working space left entirely out-of-bounds and shut off from the rest of the house. This left the oldest of the Tsukishima brothers with his self-ordained task of making sure they avoided even a seconds conflict with her. Whenever she was present, it seemed as though she enjoyed the belittling glares and dually cold indifference she offered them without remorse. And Kei was still a toddler, but he could tell the younger knew their Aunt didn’t like them as much either. He’d always grip onto any part of Akiteru he could find whenever she passed by or spoke to them, sometimes hiding behind his legs and barely sparing her a peek until she’d left.
His Aunt being present meant she’d be having both her lunches and dinners within her office, which meant it was likely she wouldn’t come out until they’d both gone to bed. However, this also meant the mansion was under a stricter surveillance than it would have been should she be absent. She had helpers and security cameras that reported everything to her at all times of the day, Kumi being one of them, as she was their personal caretaker.
Therefore, in order to avoid her completely, he tried his best to do as he was told.
He didn’t know what the consequences would be if he dared to break a rule and be caught for it. He didn’t want to know.
“So what are your plans for today?” Kumi asked cheerily, hands engaging in the task of fitting a shirt over a fussing Kei. “Anything interesting? Yosako-san really likes it when you’re in the kitchen,” she comments, now slipping a brush through her fingers and running them over his little brother’s hair. “He says you guys are charming helpers! Even though you and Kei always eat all the dough.” She pinches the younger one’s cheeks at that, earning a little giggle from the small blonde.
Akiteru, laying on the bed with his head hung upside down from the edge merely shrugged, a hand flopped over on his side. “Well… I and Kei were planning on going back to the pond today,” he said, then rolled over onto his stomach, propping up his head on his hands. “Then maybe we’ll…” he looked up at the ceiling in thought, as though he’d find the answers on the decorated ceiling. “I dunno, Kumi-san. What do you think we should do today?”
Kumi hummed, peering into the void in thought, the brush leaving her hands and entering Kei’s, leaving the younger to play with it as he pleased. “Tsukishima-sama would let you guys into the library right?” she said, hinting towards the amount of prohibitions placed on them around the house. “And after that, your tutors would be coming very soon I think. Maybe you can ask them to stay a little longer.”
At the mention of tutors, Akiteru visibly slumped.
“What’s wrong?” she inquired, trying to tug the brush away from the toddler as he waved it about. “You don’t like your sensei?”
“I don’t.” He griped, sitting up and folding his arms, letting his annoyance show clearly. “I want to go back to school. I miss my friends.”
Kumi released a soft breath, finally having gotten the brush free and patting down Kei’s bouncy hair till it looked the least bit tame. “You know your Aunt Ayame wouldn’t allow you outside.”
“Why?!”
“I…” She looks away, averting her eyes towards the window panes half-covered by heavy grey curtains. “I don’t know. But I’m sure she has her reasons.”
Akiteru huffed audibly, muttering thinly below his breath in unwilling ire. “I’m sure she hates us.”
Soon after, the both of them found themselves out in the wide expanse of garden, Akiteru crouching beside his little brother, watching him scatter small bites of bread into the pond, where the fish gathered around, eating away at the snacks barely sinking through the water.
“Niichan look!” He pointed excitedly at the koi fish, the little aquatics swimming about in an effort to catch all the little nibbles. “Koi!”
Akiteru chuckled faintly at the younger’s excitement. “Yeah Kei, they’re koi fish,” he said, then leaned forward and poked a finger through the surface of the water, momentarily scaring the fish and causing them to scatter several directions. “Whoops.”
“Niichan,” Kei whined, leaning down on all fours and pouting at the now empty spot in the pond, then back at him. “You scared them!”
“Sorry Kei,” he apologized, then reached for the bread, tearing off a quarter of it. “Don’t worry, they’ll come back.” He picked off a small piece and dropped it into the pond, waiting a few seconds before spotting the smaller of the three inch near the bread, swallowing it not a moment later. “See?”
“Ohh.” Kei said, eyes brightening in amazement.
“What do you think we should name them?”
“Mmm…” Kei plopped a finger against his chin, tilting his head to the side as he stared at the fish whirling in the middle of the sparkling pond, his lips pouted upwards in thought. He looked like he was trying to figure out the meaning behind a complex equation, face puckered the way his would whenever he attempted mental mathematics during one of their tutoring lessons in the mansion. Akiteru muffled a snicker at the imagery. He looked more mature than his age.
“… Haru!”
Haru…? Akiteru widened his eyes at his brother, repeating the name through mumbling lips. Kei peered excitedly at him, as though waiting for his criticism on the chosen name, wide smile gracing his lips. He stared fondly at the little blond, taking in the brightness of his gaze and the spread of his widened beam. “That’s dad’s name.”
“Dad?” Kei tilted his head again, this time in confusion, then blinked slowly as Akiteru nodded in his reply. He turned back to face the fish in the pond, crawling closer till his head peeked over the edge of the water. “He’s koi?”
Akiteru almost laughed again. “No Kei,” He shook his head, leaning back on his heels. “The fish is just fish.”
“Then…” He went back to placing his little finger on his chin again. “The fish is a dad.”
The older Tsukishima stared at the one his little brother was pointing at, gaze directing itself in the direction of the ginger coated koi fish, where it wiggled its lengthened tail around the two others swimming near its proximity, bubbles floating primly from its center towards the surface of the water. Akiteru watched as it swam to the hole located on the east side of the little pond, the two smaller fishes following along near its tail and disappearing behind the bigger koi as it went into hiding in the cover of the small crevice. In a way, he guessed Kei was right. Although it looked more like a ‘mom’ than a dad, because his dad was never really around the both of them in the way the bigger koi was.
Eventually, the sky warmed and the sun sat demurely in the sky as mid-day approached and afternoon rolled around, and soon he and his brother were called in for their daily tutoring lessons from the library.
Throughout the day, he hadn’t encountered his Aunt, and until dinner time, he hoped he never had to.