Sugar and Pepper (02)
Edited: 2012.07.21
ONE
* TWO *
01.
Though the students knew nothing of their relationship, their teachers did and had been notified when Satoshi's home address changed. That proved to be quite a problem for Jun.
After lunch one week following his brother's move in, his homeroom teacher called him over.
"Your brother has a fever," Jun was informed. "His temperature's not high enough that we need to send him home, but it'd be best if you don't stay for club activities and make sure he gets back. He's resting in the infirmary for the rest of the day."
Jun answered that he understood.
02.
Jun made a stop at the infirmary between two of his afternoon classes. He went over to one of the occupied beds and found the person he came looking for.
"You're troublesome," Jun murmured upon seeing his perspiring brother wrapped in one of the school's thin sheets.
Fast asleep, Satoshi could not hear the mumbled statement. He also could not feel the younger boy's palm resting against his forehead.
03.
The bell rang, signifying the end of the school day. Jun apologized to his friend who would notify the coach that he would be missing practice, and went off to meet the boy in his care.
When he reached the infirmary, his brother had just woken. He waited until Satoshi had raised himself from the mattress before claiming his attention.
"Do you need anything from class before we leave?" Jun asked.
Satoshi's immediate response was to stare at him blankly as if wondering why he was there. Jun waited calmly and so he finally murmured in reply, "No."
04.
That night, Mrs. Matsumoto made sure her elder son slept soundly before she exited the room. But before she slid the door shut behind her she ordered Jun to inform her if Satoshi's condition worsened in the night. Once again, Jun tiredly murmured that he understood.
It was probably due to that promise that an exhausted Jun woke in middle of the night. He lay as he was, close to drifting back to sleep, before forcing himself to find his brother's form in the darkness.
To his dismay, the futon was empty.
05.
The insects of the night chirped loudly.
"So this is where you go every night," the younger boy said as he approached his brother in the darkness. "This is why you get sick."
Satoshi was fast asleep on the back veranda without so much as a sheet to cover him from the early spring chill. Jun bent down in disapproval. He checked his brother's temperature and was relieved to find that it had not gone up. But because he did not have the strength to carry Satoshi inside, he had to wake the older boy up.
Satoshi blinked tiredly and was not given a chance to rouse fully before Jun had him on his feet. Held by the shoulders, he was partially dragged inside.
In his room, Jun laid Satoshi on his bed and fixed on the covers. He took the futon instead.
06.
Just before sunset, he woke again due to a heaviness on his chest.
He found Satoshi half lying on top of him. Tired, Jun only moved into a more comfortable position before his eyes closed again, enveloped by the warmth of his brother.
* *
THREE