Chapter 7

Time seems to be moving on with strange speed...

Taiki brought up moving out at the start of the new term. Mother and Father were understandably hesitant to let him leave, seeing as he’d never been away from home for so long and he was their child. But they eventually agreed with him on his reasons to go.

Eri, on the other hand, was inconsolable.

She wailed, throwing herself in Taiki’s arms and refusing to let go. Taiki held her tightly, rubbing her back and running his fingers through her silver hair in an attempt to soothe her. “Eri-chan, don’t cry,” he said softly. 

But still she continued to sob. “Nii-san’s gonna leave like Mako-chan’s mommy left!” she cried, leaving large stains on his shirt. “You’re gonna leave forever and ever and ever and never come back!”

Taiki let out a soft gasp. “No, no, Eri, no,” he promised, holding her tighter. “I’m not gonna leave forever. It’ll be just like when I go to class or spend the night at Aki-kun’s place. You remember Aki-kun?”

Eri nodded and sniffled, eyes rimmed with red and looking like she’d go off again at any moment. “Aki-kun’s nice…”

Taiki hummed in agreement. “He is,” he said. “And Big Bro’s just going to go to live in the same place as Aki-kun. We’ll still see each other all the time.”

Eri’s bottom lip quivered. “Promise?” she demanded. 

Taiki grinned, wrapping one of his pinkies around hers. “Promise,” he said. 

So a month later, Taiki was moved into a shared dorm with Akimitsu. Father, Akimitsu, and even Megumi had come by to help take care of the move. 

To no one’s surprise, as soon as Father had left, Megumi pulled out fancy wine and sake and demanded they drink themselves silly. Akimitsu quickly put a stop to overdrinking, reminding Megumi that she had work the next day, as well as dryly stating that both he and Taiki had class. 

After a lot of grumbling and complaining, mostly about how Akimitsu had become a spoilsport since they’d left high school, Megumi fell asleep on Akimitsu’s bed, out like a light. Taiki and Akimitsu sat on Taiki’s bed, passing the bottle back and forth as the shadows grew long with the night.

“I think it’ll be nice,” Akimitsu said. He looked in Megumi’s direction, a fond grin on his lips. “It’s almost like high school again.”

“Except this time we’re legal,” Taiki said, taking a long gulp from the bottle of wine. It had a distinctly smooth, fruity taste, more to Akimitsu’s palate than his own or Megumi’s. He’d obviously been who Megumi had been thinking of when she bought the drink.

It created a small flush on Akimitsu’s cheeks that Taiki was sure wasn’t entirely from the alcohol when he nonchalantly mentioned it. He hadn’t ever thought about the two of them in any sort of context, really, but never romantic in nature. During high school they’d constantly been at each other’s throats and Taiki was surprised that they’d never actually gotten into a physical altercation, though he was mostly certain that had to do with Yuzuki’s no-nonsense attitude about maintaining their families’ dignity and Hachirou’s calm nature than an actual effort from Akimitsu and Megumi to get along.

“How’d you manage to get the board to let you keep the dog?” Akimitsu asked, scratching behind Patch’s ear. 

Patch huffed, pleased, and leaned into Akimitsu’s scratches. Taiki hummed in amusement, patting Patch’s back. 

“Not totally sure,” he admitted with a shrug. “I brought up how good it’s been for me to have Patch, and they just allowed it. Patch is good, so I don’t see there being any problems.”

Akimitsu shrugged too. “Alright.” He let it drop there.

The two dropped into companionable silence, eventually putting Megumi’s drinks in the fridge for her to collect the next day and each finding somewhere to sprawl out, with Taiki in his bed with Patch and Akimitsu on the floor. 

Life was very complicated for a while. Taiki only had one more year left of schooling before he had to begin his clinical training in a hospital, lasting two years before he’d be eligible to get his private license. He was determined to do it in half that time. 

That meant he took on twice as much work as was required of him, much to the worry of both Akimitsu and Mother. It had left Taiki exhausted on most days, leaving him to fall asleep in the middle of things on his parents’ couch or while talking to Akimitsu. 

Still, he forced his life to take a sudden halt in early August, allowing himself to get immersed in summer. Midafternoon on August 4th, he arrived at his parents’ house, dressed finely in a neat dark blue button up with a black stripe design on it and dark tan slacks, regular glasses exchanged for prescription sunglasses, and a large black bag in hand. 

He hadn’t even knocked on the door when it opened, and Eri herself came out in a storm. 

“Taiki-nii-san!” she cheered, throwing herself into his arms and laughing loudly when he picked her up, holding her easily. She wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled against him. 

“What have I told you about running?” he gently scolded, but Eri’s expression remained bright and cheerful, unimpeded by the words he didn’t mean too seriously. Taiki walked inside, taking his shoes off at the entrance and slipping Eri’s outside sandals off. “I’m home!” he shouted. 

Mother came out of the back, Father close by her heels. “Oh, Taiki, it’s so good to see you,” Mother said, kissing Taiki’s cheeks. “Have you been eating and sleeping enough? You’re looking sick. That’s not right for a doctor, you know. What will your patients think if you can’t take care of yourself?”

Taiki scoffed slightly, though smiled at his mother. “I’m fine. I was just excited to come see Eri-chan, but now I can’t think of any reason why today would be particularly special.”

Eri giggled when Taiki tickled her tummy, lightly batting at his hands. He stopped to hold her more securely. She really was extraordinarily small for a child her age. Her level of development and maturity was easily right where she was supposed to be, but her stature remained at most three going on four years old.

“Nii-san!” Eri exclaimed with a pout, shaking him slightly. “You can’t forget!”

Taiki hummed, tapping his lips. “Hmm, it must be Mother and Father’s anniversary, right?” he said, and Eri grinned, shaking her head. Taiki produced an over exaggerated pout. “Alright, then a holiday.”

“No!” Eri said, giggling but trying to hide it behind her hands. 

“Oh, I’ve got it!” Taiki said. “A birthday.”

“Yes!” Eri cheered, eyes lighting up and clapping her hands. 

Taiki tilted his head, grinning teasingly at her. “But it’s not my birthday… It’s not Patch’s birthday… that must mean… it’s Eri-chan’s!”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Eri hugged Taiki again as Taiki laughed. “I turned six!” He hugged her back, just as tightly. 

“Happy Birthday, Eri,” Taiki said. 

“Did you get me something?” Eri asked hopefully, looking at him with those wide, lovely eyes of hers. 

Taiki chuckled, putting her down on the ground. “I did indeed,” he said, tapping his black bag. “It’s right in here.”

Eri made a face, crossing her arms petulantly. “That doesn’t have a present in it,” she grumbled. “That’s just all the stuff you and the doctors poke me with…”

Taiki chuckled a bit, pressing a hand to Eri’s head and mussing it up just a bit. “I promise if you’re a good girl while I give you a check-up, then I’ll give you your birthday present right away.”

Eri’s eyes sparkled, and she hastily agreed, allowing Taiki to take her up to her bedroom where he could comfortably give her a routine chec-up. While she went to the hospital regularly for the sort of thing every few months, it was regularly left at least once a month to Taiki to do, by novel logic if nothing else. He was sure Patch had something to do with it too, but Patch wasn’t coughing up any answers on that matter either.

Taiki put on his stethoscope, first listening to Eri’s heart, then to her lungs. Her little burst of energy when she’d run out to greet Taiki before had made her breathing come out just a little more labored now that they were sitting and calmed down. It was a touch worrying, but nothing she needed to go to the hospital over and wouldn’t impede their plans for the night. 

He checked her temperature twice, first because of routine, and the second time because of the higher than average number. She’d gotten sick and had needed taken out of class just a couple weeks before, even rushed to the hospital where she’d been with a worrying fever for several days. But then she’d been brought back home, though she hadn’t gone back to class since.

That in itself wasn’t rare. Though Eri was technically enrolled in school, she was out more often than she was in. Taiki could count on one hand the number of days she’d been in the preschool since starting, which she’d only done within the last year due to her weak immune system. Makoto had already started proper schooling as a first grader, due in part to him being slightly older than Eri and in part to him being healthier.

Taiki hummed as he finished up with Eri’s checkup, inputting all the information into her chart to be sent off to her current doctor when he arrived back at school later that night. He sat back on his heels after taking out Eri’s promised present and handing it to her, a cute little yellow rabbit than in part reminded him of Patch, with colorful patches covering its mostly tan body and bright string tying it all together. It was half the reason he’d gotten it for her. Patch had not been amused by the comparison. 

“It might not be a good idea to go out tonight…” Taiki said, giving Eri a sad smile. “You’ve still got a bit of a fever, and I don’t want you to get so excited that you get sick again.”

Eri’s eyes immediately looked like they were going to bubble over with tears. She quickly tried to brush them away, but it wasn’t working. Taiki reached out and did it for her. “But- But nii-san… I- I wanna go out with nii-san,” she whimpered, holding the rabbit even tighter. “You- You promised me. You- You promised on- on my birthday, we’d- we’d get to spend it together. We could go have fun.”

“I know, Eri,” Taiki said. “But you’ve gotta take care of your body if you want it to grow strong.”

Eri bowed her head, small body trembling. She suddenly shot her head up, leaning forward so suddenly it almost knocked Taiki backwards. “But- But- I promise I’ll be careful and I won’t get too excited and I’ll listen to Mommy and Daddy and nii-san and I’ll eat all my veggies, even the icky green ones, and I won’t run and I’ll be good for the doctors. Please, Taiki-nii?”

Taiki could feel his heart melting and his confidence wavering with every word coming out of her mouth. Finally, Taiki sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before looking back at Eri.

“You promise to listen to your big brother?” he said, and Eri nodded quickly. “Okay. We can still go out. But you have to rest for a little while first, okay?”

Eri deflated, but ultimately nodded. Taiki smiled and petted her hair. 

“Good girl,” he said. “I could read you a story if you like.”

Eri brightened a little at that, easily allowing Taiki to tuck her into bed with the rabbit. 

“Can Mako-chan come with us?” Eri asked as Taiki finished the story he’d been reading her. 

Taiki looked over with a quirked brow. He pushed up his glasses. “I thought you just wanted to spend today with your nii-san.”

Eri turned pink and curled in on herself, hiding her face in the rabbit’s back. “But Mako-chan’s so cool! He’s got all kinds of fun stories from school like nii-san…”

Taiki rolled his eyes and grimaced, just because Eri couldn’t see it. That was a male lead for you… His protagonist’s halo was extending towards even his little sister…

“Do you really want him to come?” Taiki asked, setting the book on Eri’s nightstand. Eri peaked out from behind her rabbit, just an eye, but nodded quickly. Taiki sighed, flicked her forehead, but smiled wryly at her. “Alright, alright. Let’s wait until he gets home from school, then we can set off.”

It didn’t take long for school to let out and Makoto to arrive home. More accurately, to the Kuroda residence, where he always ended up after school until his father returned home. He was just like any other excitable young boy, jumping around and jittery if forced to be still too long, and all too pleased to join the outing for Eri’s birthday and torment Taiki.

That part wasn’t on purpose, but there was just something about Makoto and Taiki being in the same room that made certain at least one would be riled up by the end of the encounter. 

Eri, true to her word, was slow and careful as she readied for the outing, making sure to stop and breathe slowly in the middle of putting on her shoes when she began getting jittery while Makoto fidgeted impatiently in the doorway. 

“We’ll be back in a few hours,” Taiki said, kissing Mother’s cheek. 

“Have fun, you three,” she said, kissing Eri and patting Makoto’s head. Patch barked, and Mother chuckled, leaning over to pet its head. “I’m sorry, I meant the four of you.”

Patch grinned in that dog like way it did, happy enough with that. It trotted after Taiki as they exited the house, heading for the waiting car and driver. Makoto ran towards the car, and Eri skipped a step, like she was preparing to go after him, but held back at the last moment. She looked back and grinned at Taiki, continuing at a normal speed.

“Keep an eye on her vitals for me,” Taiki told Patch in a soft voice. “Let me know if she starts having any trouble.”

“Can do, Master!” Patch declared. “Eri’s going to have fun, right? It’s gotta be fun! Wouldn’t it be fun to be human?”

Taiki hummed. “Yeah, it is sometimes.”

They reached the car and Taiki opened the door. Makoto scrambled into the far seat, Eri in the middle, with Taiki on her other side. Patch ended up in the front with the driver. 

“Where are we going?” Eri asked, eyes wide as she stared at Taiki. She’d brought her rabbit, so it was seated in her lap, tucked into her belt with her. 

Makoto leaned around Eri, sticking his tongue out at Taiki. Taiki had to resist the urge to flick him. You’re the adult here… “Yeah, where’re we goin’?” he demanded. “It’s not gonna be boring, right?”

“I can’t tell you,” Taiki said. “It’s a surprise, and you wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise, right?”

Eri pouted, but the red in her cheeks denoted her excitement. Makoto clearly wasn’t content with being quiet about his complaint. 

“Aggggh!” he exclaimed, throwing his arms out. “But it’s not my birthday, you coulda told me!”

Taiki snorted. “You would have told Eri-chan the moment I told you.”

Makoto opened his mouth to argue, but flushed a dark red, all the way up to his ears after looking at Eri. At least he was aware enough to realize the truth…

The sky had gone completely dark by the time the car stopped. Taiki grinned as he looked out the window at their destination. 

“We’re here,” he said, climbing out of the car and holding his hand out for Eri to take. 

Eri carefully climbed out of the car, keeping a tight hold on Taiki’s hand even when she was upright again. Her blue eyes sparkled as she looked upon the bright, colorful lights and upbeat music of the amusement park.

“Whoa!” Makoto exclaimed, bouncing on his feet. “We gotta try everything! There’s really cool roller coasters�""

“No roller coasters.” Makoto turned back to Taiki abruptly, met with the deep frown on Taiki’s features. It wasn’t necessarily angry, but worry and necessity, though a six-year-old wouldn’t understand that. 

Makoto pouted, folding his arms. “Fiiiine,” he said, rolling his head. “But we gotta try all the games, right!? It’s Eri-chan’s birthday!”

Eri looked up at Taiki with a pleading look, and Taiki nodded softly. Makoto cheered, and he ran off into the amusement park. Eri kept a tight hand wrapped around Taiki’s, both keeping her secured to his side so she didn’t run off and break her promise, but also so he could be a steady figure in this unfamiliar environment. 

Still, she kept her wide-eyed wonderment as they walked through playing various games and stopping at different stalls. Taiki won a pretty crown and placed it on her head, declaring her a birthday princess. 

Despite his reluctance to whatever was developing between Makoto and Eri, Taiki had to admit that Makoto was a good friend. Sometimes he’d go too fast, leaving Eri behind because she couldn’t keep up with him. But he always came back, grinning apologetically and trying to keep pace with her. 

Even more than Taiki, he managed to win Eri all sorts of candy and even snagged a tiny stuffed dog that was even more of a replica of Patch than the rabbit was, though admittedly more of the Patch that they saw rather than what Kaoru had originally been met with. It was a third the size of the rabbit Taiki had given her, but Eri held it just as close. For a while, they walked with Makoto leading the way, his hand wrapped around Eri’s, with Eri dragging Taiki along behind them.

Makoto’s eyes lit up as fireworks began setting off around them. “Woah! It’s so cool! C’mon, let’s get closer!” He began running, starting to tug Eri along, but she released his hand, letting it fall to her side as she slowed to a stop. 

Taiki stopped with her, her hand slipping from his grasp. “Eri?”

Eri’s gaze was distant, somewhere far away that Taiki couldn’t reach. In that moment, it felt like if he were to reach out for her, he’d only meet a ghost. 

“Nii-san? When can I run?” 

Her voice quivered, soft and broken and barely audible over the commotion of the park, though for just a few moments, it was only the two of them, and the sight of Makoto running far away. 

“I want to run…”

Taiki fell to his knees behind her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. “I know, Eri,” he said, pained and wishing he could say, do, more. “I know.”

“I’m gonna leave, aren’t I?” Eri asked. No, it was more of a matter-of-fact statement. She knew… “Not like Makoto’s mommy, but like Grandpa did. I’m gonna die.”

“Eri…”

Eri swallowed, not bothering to wipe away her tears, instead letting them drip down onto the ground. “All the doctors Mommy takes me to say I’m gonna, but I don’t wanna, ‘cause it’s gonna make nii-san and Makoto and Mommy and Daddy cry…”

Eri roughly wiped at her eyes, turning back to Taiki while holding her rabbit and dog tightly, giving Taiki a wide grin that threw him off guard. 

“I wanna race before I die,” she declared, more strength in her voice than she’d had before. “I wanna race lots of people and go super fast!”

A sharp ding went off in Taiki’s head, a sound he’d almost forgotten. Something important had happened in relation to the mission. Patch barked, sitting next to Eri.

“Secondary mission has been established,” it declared. “Mission: Eri’s Race. Details: Eri Kuroda wants to successfully run in a race. Time limit: none.”

Taiki chuckled as he turned away from Patch, scooping Eri up and standing, holding her tight and hoping she didn’t hear how broken his heart felt. “One day,” he promised. “You’ll race and beat everybody.”

Eri giggled, hugging him just as tight. “I don’t need to win,” she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. “I just wanna run. It looks like so much fun.”

Makoto ran back towards them and skidded to a stop, slumping over with his hands on his knees and panting heavily. He sucked in a deep breath as he stood, putting his hands on his hips. “What’s taking you two slowpokes so long!? You’re gonna miss the entire fireworks show!”

“Onwards!” Eri declared, pointing in the direction Makoto had come from, making Makoto cheer in triumph, excitedly leading the way. 

Taiki kept Eri in his arms as they made it to a good spot by the river going through the park, watching the fireworks light up the sky. 

It was a spectacle that reflected in Eri’s eyes, brilliant reds and greens and purples and golds. She sleepily laid against Taiki, though forced herself to keep her eyes open to watch it. 

Taiki looked over at Patch out of the corner of his eye. “How’s she doing?” he asked silently.

“Vitals are all good! Melatonin is almost at its peak, so returning home is recommended! Sleep is expected within the hour,” Patch said, wagging its tail. Taiki patted its head. 

By the time they were returning to the car after the fireworks, even Makoto was sleepily dragging his feet. Taiki easily maneuvered both children into the car, getting in with himself in the middle. 

Just as Patch had predicted, Eri was asleep before they’d even made it halfway home, and even Makoto had fallen asleep leaning against Taiki. 

Once they arrived at the house, Taiki sighed, looking between the children. He pulled Eri into his arms and carefully got Makoto off of him. The boy was too fast asleep to wake up. He got out of the car and opened the door for Patch.

“Alright, let’s get Eri inside then we’ll take Makoto home…” he muttered to himself. 

“No need. Thanks for bringing him back.” Taiki had to fight the natural instinct to jump as he whirled around on Takuya Takeuchi. He grinned easily, waving at Taiki as he approached and effortlessly pulled Makoto out of the car, holding him just as easily as when he’d been a baby.

Taiki frowned at him. “How do you keep sneaking up on me.”

Takuya laughed at Taiki’s blunt phrasing, eyes filled with mirth. “Comes with being a parent,” he said with a shrug. He rubbed Makoto’s back. “I hope he didn’t cause you too much trouble.”

Taiki cringed, but it was clearly over exaggerated by Taiki’s complicated feelings on the boy. “Oh, not at all. He’s a perfect angel.”

That had Takuya laughing even harder, enough that Taiki wasn’t sure how Makoto didn’t wake up from it. Ah, novel plot reasoning… how nice it would be to sleep so soundly like that…

“Goodnight, Kuroda-kun,” Takuya said, giving Taiki another wave before heading for his house. “It’s… good to see you. You’ve grown.”

“Goodnight, Sensei,” Taiki said, voice growing quiet. 

Patch sat down at Taiki’s feet, giving out a smug little hum. “Master, your heart rate has spiked, and your dopamine and oxytocin levels are raised. Should I run a diagnosis?”

Taiki spluttered. “Wha- No! Dumb dog.” He swatted at Patch, who just sniggered and evaded him easily. “Stop that, I didn’t tell you to do that.”

“I didn’t need to do that to see the pining on your�""

“I demand a new system.”

“Noooooo, Master, noooooo…! I’ll be good, please don’t replace me!”

Taiki snorted fondly, patting Patch’s head before opening the front door. “I’d never replace you. You’re stuck with me now.”