Part 9 – Years of Misunderstanding
Silence.
Neither of them spoke.
The room felt heavier than ever.
Kaito was the first to break it.
"...Did you tell Aka and Brother Renjiro?"
Haruto gave a small nod.
"...Yeah."
Kaito quietly let out the breath he had been holding.
"...Good."
For a moment...
No one spoke again.
Ayame looked down at the letter in her hands.
"...So..."
"...They know everything."
Haruto nodded once more.
"...I told them as soon as I got the letter."
"...I..."
He lowered his head.
"...I wanted them to protect you two."
His voice trembled.
"...I was scared."
"...I didn't know what to do."
"...So..."
"...I asked them to protect us..."
"...if something happened."
Ayame's expression softened.
She looked at Haruto for a long moment.
Then quietly folded the letter.
"...Haruto."
He slowly looked up.
"...Why?"
"...Why didn't you tell us too?"
Haruto froze.
Ayame continued.
Her voice remained calm.
There was no anger in it.
"...We're your family."
"...You don't have to carry everything by yourself."
Haruto looked away again.
His fingers tightened around the edge of the sofa.
He took a shaky breath.
"...I..."
He swallowed.
"...I thought..."
"...if you both knew..."
"...you'd stop smiling."
Silence.
"...Every day..."
"...you'd be afraid."
"...Every time someone knocked on the door..."
"...Every mission..."
"...Every stranger..."
"...you'd wonder if they came for us."
A tear rolled down his cheek.
"...I didn't want that."
"...I wanted..."
He smiled weakly.
"...I wanted both of you..."
"...to keep living normally."
Silence filled the room once again.
Haruto kept his eyes lowered.
A tear fell onto his trembling hands.
Kaito looked at him for a long moment.
Then, quietly...
"...You said..."
"...you asked Sister Akari and Brother Renjiro..."
"...to protect us."
Haruto gave a small nod.
"...Yeah."
Another silence.
Kaito swallowed.
"...So..."
He looked directly at Haruto.
"...You didn't hate me?"
Haruto's eyes shot open.
"...What?"
Kaito forced a small smile.
"...I always thought..."
"...you hated me."
Haruto stared at him in disbelief.
"...Why would you think that?"
Kaito looked away.
"...Because..."
"...ever since we were little..."
"...it always felt like you stayed away from me."
"...You never came to play."
"...You barely talked to me."
"...Even after Mom and Dad..."
"...I thought..."
"...you just didn't like me."
Haruto immediately shook his head.
"No!"
His voice came out louder than he intended.
"I never hated you!"
His breathing became uneven.
"I..."
"I wanted to play with you..."
"I wanted to talk to you..."
His hands trembled again.
"...I was just..."
He lowered his head.
"...Scared."
The room fell silent.
Kaito froze.
"...Scared?"
Haruto slowly nodded.
"...Whenever you shouted..."
"...I got scared."
"...I didn't know what to do."
"...So..."
"...I stayed quiet."
"...I thought..."
"...if I said the wrong thing..."
"...you'd get even angrier."
Kaito's expression slowly fell.
Everything he had believed for years...
Began falling apart.
He looked at Haruto...
As if seeing his little brother for the first time.