The Arrival

Then, he shook his head and wrapped his toes with blanket.

'Why did Seiji even care about this? He'll soon be dead anyways.. So, why should he?'

Meanwhile, Seiji was at work.

The afternoon dragged endlessly. The usual sound of keyboards filled the office, along with the distant hum of the air conditioner.

He sat quietly at his desk, focused on debugging a program line by line — until a loud laugh broke his focus.

"Iwasaki-san, are you ready for tonight?" a coworker asked cheerfully.

Toga Iwasaki laughed lightly, her nails tapping against her coffee mug. "Of course I am. It's the monthly drinking party, right? Everyone's coming — even Ume-san."

Murasaki chuckled in his seat beside her. "Yeah. I wouldn't miss it. Though I heard someone might skip it again." His eyes slid toward Seiji with a knowing smirk.

Toga followed his gaze. "Oh, right! Sekiguchi-san," she said in a falsely sweet tone. She turned her head to Seiji, the monitor display mirrored on his glasses.

"Hey, Sekiguchi," Toga called out mockingly from across the room. "You're coming to the staff drinking party tonight, right? Or are you still allergic to alcohol?"

A few chuckles followed from nearby desks.

Seiji didn't look up. "I'll pass. I have things to do." His tone was calm, measured — detached enough to sound unbothered.

'Looks like she's having a good mood today...'

Toga smirked, twirling a strand of her black hair. "Oh, come on, Sekiguchi. We all know what happened last time. You sure you can handle more than one drink?"

Seiji finally looked up, his gaze sharp. "Excuse me?"

Murasaki grinned. "We saw you the other night, didn’t we, Iwasaki-san? In that little bar near the station. You were swaying like crazy — looked totally drunk."

Toga pretended to gasp. "Oh right! You were flushed and mumbling something about ‘debugging reality.’ That was hilarious."

A few people chuckled nearby.

Seiji leaned back slightly, crossing his arms. "Fascinating story," he said coolly. "Next time, you should take a picture. Might help you prove your lies."

Their laughter stopped for a second.

Then he added, "And for the record — if I were drunk, I wouldn’t be spending my evenings fixing your department’s broken code."

A few coworkers turned to look away awkwardly.

Toga's smile tightened. "You don't need to get defensive, Sekiguchi-san. We're just joking."

Seiji’s eyes returned to his monitor. "Then maybe try being funny next time."

The silence that followed was almost tangible. Only the hum of the air conditioner filled the room again.

Ken almost smiled inwardly. This was the Seiji he knew: intelligent, sharp, composed, yet crushed by people who would never understand what it meant to be him.

As soon as they were gone, Seiji exhaled slowly, his hands tightening on the keyboard.

Inside, though, Seiji’s thoughts were dark and heavy.

'Every damn day... The same routine... The same petty games. If I could... I'd shut you both up for good—'

He closed his eyes briefly, forcing the thought to fade.
It was just frustration — nothing more.

But the weight of the week — the Oyakata's visit, the tension at home, Hideaki's unpredictability — all of it pressed against his chest.
Even with his calm mask on, Seiji could feel something inside him crack a little.

He leaned back in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.

'If only I could just stop thinking for a while.'

He took a breath, straightened up, and returned to his code — his hands moving mechanically, as if his brain had gone into autopilot.

Somewhere in the background, Toga's voice rang out again, loud and careless.
Seiji tuned it out.
He'd long since mastered the art of building walls — even when they were already crumbling from within.

'If I show up again like last time, Ume-san will probably use me as a throwing weapon again... That's why I’d better not stand out too much and just watch what I say. But damn it... that only makes me even more frustrated with all this.'

He gazed at Toga. Her never leaving smirk adorned her face.

Ken clinged his jaw even stronger.

'Not now.'

He gazed at Seiji, who's kept working on his project all the time. He always had these very visible dark circles under his eys, but he didn't give up.

Ken sighed.

He admired him. Even if he wasn't working here as long as Ken did. It was something about Seiji's mental strength that made him flinch at every response he delivered to Toga and Murasaki.

He shook his head lightly and came back to his work.

***

[Evening]

After rummaging through his closet for what felt like an eternity, Seiji finally pulled out the navy-blue yukata, impeccably folded, slightly worn out to keep using and now a little too small for him.

"Damn..." He cursed as he inspected the clothes carefully. "Hope I'll still fit in it."

As Seiji hung the garment back in the closet, he heard loud banging on the door.

"OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, HUH!? SETTING UP SOME TRAP FOR ME!?" Hideaki's paranoia had, once again, flared up.

Seiji let out an irritated sigh, shaking his head. "Can you finally stop freaking out over every little thing?"

"No! You don't get it! Everything is stressing me out!"

"Maybe it's time to pull the stick out of your ass and get a grip." Seiji restored.

"Tch!" Hideaki's breath hitched, but he said nothing more. Just the angry shuffle of his feet retreating down the hall.

Seiji hearing this rubbed his eyes tireldlessly "Will he ever stop being that paranoid?" He wondered.

After finishing his task, he unlocked the door and was greeted by Hideaki's intense yet scaried glare.

"Finally!" Hideaki spat out.

"Hello, paranoid gremlin."

"Tch! What were you doing there??"

"I was just looking for something," Seiji replied calmly, completely unfazed by Hideaki's outburst.

Hideaki clicked his tongue, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"Yeah sure... And what were you looking for!? Or maybe you were laughing at me behind that door!?"

Seiji remained unfazed as he calmly responded.
"I was looking for some piece of clothing. But luckily I found it in... let's say in usable condition..."

"Mhm..." Hideaki murmured.

"Remember what I said a week ago?" Seiji added "Someone important is visiting me."

Before Hideaki could muster any response, Seiji interrupted him,

"They're coming this weekend."

Hideaki clenged both his fists and teeth
"I k-know that! And I was going to ask you, who the hell it will be." he leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms. "I hope this person isn't some brat trying to challenge me to a duel."

Seiji laughed, the sound catching Hideaki off guard.
"No, no... I don't think she has any interest in dueling you. She doesn't even know you exist, actually."

"She?" Hideaki's face soften slightly, eyebrows raising and lips twitching in momentary surprise.

"Yes, it's my younger sister. She's the one visiting. It will be during her summer break, so we'll have the whole weekend occupied, starting from this Friday's evening."

Hideaki stared at him for a moment, processing the information.
"This F-Friday...?..."

"Yes, I'm picking her up after work." Seiji's tone became a bit more serious as he continued.
"And with that, I will have one request for you Hideaki... Please, behave. I don't want you to cause any problems or embarrass me."

Hideaki immediately bristled,
"Huh? I always behave!" his face twisting into a scowl.

Seiji raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it.
"Sure... except when you don't."
He softened his voice slightly, but the meaning was clear. "Just... try. For me."

"Tch. Fine. Whatever." Hideaki muttered under his breath, clearly irritated.

Seiji nodded, knowing that was the best he could get from him.
"Thanks." 

Then he checked his watch "Are you hungry?"

"N-no... I ate one of the instant-soups..."

"Alright. If so, then I'm gonna make myself something to eat." He gazed at Hideaki's hunched posture "What will you do?"

"I'll go sleeping... I practiced flow of my Magic Ability all day... Tch, I'm exhausted..."

Seiji nodded "Good." He said noticing Hideaki's clean un-wounded hands. "I’m glad you actually thought this time — and didn’t act like an idiot."

"HUH!?" Hideaki flared, but Seiji just smiled and moved to kitchen.

"I hope you didn't eat all the soups. Had an appetite for one too..." He said, already searching for one in the shelves.

"I-I didn't! Damnit!"

"Alright then. So without further ado, good night, Hideaki."

"Bye..." Hideaki murmured under his breath and with being all offended, he flopped onto the couch, pulling the blanket over himself. "Unbehaved!? Me? Idiot..."

Seiji sighed softly, already bracing himself for weekend's potential chaos.

While he was eating his dinner, Hideaki  tossed and turned, too angry to sleep, grumbling insults under his breath until exhaustion finally caught up with him.

[Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department – At the same time, Investigation Office]

The room was quiet, except for the faint hum of the fluorescent lights. Papers, coffee cups, and a half-eaten sandwich littered the desk. Nakamura flipped through the latest report, his expression darkening with every line.

"...So it's confirmed."
Nakamura tossed the report onto the desk.
"The recovered files and camera logs proves that Doctor Watanabe personally ordered the system technicians to erase all records of Miyahara Hideaki's treatment. No authorization from the administration, no medical board consent, nothing."

He exhaled deeply, then looked toward the others.

Inoue leaned back, crossing his arms.
"So Fukuda was right. Miyahara was treated there."

Nakamura shortly nodded
"He was. And thanks to this cover-up, we lost three weeks of trail we could've used to catch him."

Inoue  nodded "Exactly. He didn't just heal a fugitive — he made sure no one would ever know. He compromised evidence in an active nationwide investigation."

Tanaka sighed heavily.
"He said it was because of the Hippocratic Oath. That he couldn't refuse treatment to a man in need — even if that man was a murderer. But now everyone's in the mud because of one man's delusion. That's career suicide."

Kisaragi narrowed her eyes as she scanned throught the reported files "But he might've genuinely believed he was doing the right thing. You've seen cases like this before — moral conflict, stress, empathy overriding logic."

 "Still... deleting hospital records? That's not mercy. That's obstruction." Tanaka said.

Oyakata took a voice, quietly, almost to himself.
"If Miyahara Hideaki was really in pain... maybe the doctor wasn't wrong to try."

Another officer shoot him a look.
"Kid, when you start feeling sorry for murderers, that's when you should quit this job."

Inoue looked toward Nakamura.
"What's going to happen to him now?" he asked at first tranquiled though visibly troubled.

Nakamura rubbed his temples
"He's being detained." He began with weary voice "Likely charges: obstruction of justice, data tampering, and aiding a wanted criminal. The prosecutors are already on it." He exhaled heavily, adding "Because of his belief, we've got a serial killer walking free."

"What about the hospital itself?" Inoue asked "If the entire patient registry was accessed—"

"Already in motion." Nakamura answered "The Health Ministry's investigation unit is inside Tokyo General. They're tearing through the servers as we speak. If anyone else helped wipe data, they'll be suspended or transferred."

Everyone nodded.

Tanaka looked at Nakamura

"I'll go back to Fukuda. He deserves to know he wasn't crazy."

Nakamura nodded.
"Good. Let's get to work."

He turned to the window, watching the city lights shimmer in the distance.

"Because somewhere out there, Miyahara's still breathing. And now we know who helped him do it."

He paused.

"That's what makes it dangerous. And tragic." he murmured. "So now, let's find the one man he thought was worth saving." He added with a grim tone.

Then, after a moment, almost as if to himself: 'That name... Sekiguchi... it still lingers in my mind... Maybe Fukuda's assumptions were't unfounded as we claimed they were...'

[Friday's evening, at the Ueno train station]

Before the train arrived, Seiji leaned against the railing on the platform, staring blankly at the tracks. His thoughts drifted back to the office – to Iwasaki's snide remarks, the passive-aggressive chuckles from the others, and the way no one said a word when his work was openly mocked during the morning meeting. He had to finish the day pretending he wasn't boiling inside.

That, and he'd practically inhaled an entire pot of coffee just to stay awake after a sleepless night spent calculating contingency plans.

How the hell was he supposed to manage Hideaki's unstable moods and play the responsible big brother while Akemi visited?

As the train rolled into the station, Seiji spotted his younger sister, Akemi Sekiguchi, waiting eagerly. With her long blond hair tied in a ponytail and bright blue eyes sparkling with excitement, she radiated joy in her slightly athletic attire, adorned with earrings and bracelets.

Upon seeing her brother, Akemi beamed and rushed into his arms. Seiji enveloped her in a brief hug before stepping back, a playful smirk on his face.

"S-Seiji! Hey, hehe! I'm really glad to see you too, but... you're squeezing me a bit!" she exclaimed, a mix of laughter and discomfort in her voice.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't intend to cause discomfort," he replied with a hint of mischeviousness, "Now, let me get your suitcase." his tone shifted back to practicality as he picked up her suitcase.

'Ensure Hideaki doesn't create any issues this weekend, and Akemi will spend it as good as it could be... That's the plan...'  he reminded himself.

"I'm really looking forward to spending part of my vacation with you! I can't wait for the festival tomorrow!" Akemi exclaimed, her enthusiasm palpable.

Seiji smiled lightly at her. 

"Yeah."

---

Hideaki woke up from an uncomfortable sleep, sprawled half off the couch.

He groaned as he stood, stretching. He remembered how Seiji had locked himself in his room the evening before.

'He certainly hid something in there...'

Curiosity piqued, Hideaki sneaked into Seiji's room, rummaging through his closet until he found the yukata neatly hung inside - something that hasn't been there before.

He pulled it out, examining it.

'A yukata? Does he want to go to a festival tomorrow or something?'

Hideaki thought, holding it before his red eyes.

He hung it back up with a scoff and returned to the living room.

There, he lounged on the couch but as he made himself comfortable his thoughts became shifting to Seiji's sister.

'What if she'll turn out to be dangerous? What if she'll sense that there's something wrong with me? What if she'll dig dipper and discover who I am??'

As Seiji was coming back with Akemi from the station, Hideaki felt that his restlessness gnawed at him.

The forming paranoia of his, only made the idea of meeting Seiji's sister more and more stressful.

'Tch! I n-need to calm down... I need... I need some distraction...'

He looked down at his hands, clenching them until his nails lightly dug into his palms.

The tension inside him grew, kept crawling higher with every thought — every question that circled in his head, he analyzed — almost paranoically — who Seiji’s younger sister might be. Would she like him? Was she kind? Would she see through him, just like everyone else? Or maybe she was just a completely normal teenager with no hidden motives at all?

The more he thought about it, the tighter his fists became.

And the more he tried to calm down, the worse it got.

"D-damn it!!!!!" he shouted again and threw the pillow across the room.

It hit the wall with a soft thud — completely unsatisfying.

He sank onto the couch, gripping his hair. The room felt smaller, his breathing louder — as if the walls were closing in on him.

The breath came in short, uneven bursts. He pressed his forehead against his arm, eyes wide and unfocused.

"Why am I even nervous...?" he whispered to himself, voice trembling. "It's just his sister... just his damn sister..."

But no matter how many times he told himself that, the dread in his chest wouldn't fade.

***

[Arriving at the Apartment]

Hideaki was still sitting on the couch, leaning against the backrest, his hands gripping the blanket. His heart was still beating too fast, and his own thoughts echoed in his head.

'Tch… calm down… just calm down… you’ll look like a freak if you panic now…'

Just then there was the sound of the front door opening.

Click.

Seiji quickly intervened, sensing the brewing tension. "Akemi, this is my roommate, Hideaki."

Akemi's eyes widened.

"Ah! So you’re Hideaki-san!" she said with a grin. "Nii-san told me about you."

He gulped, bowing awkwardly

"N-nice to m-meet you.." He greeted her, even though he tried to mask outside his discomfort.

She bowed back and laughed lightly, completely unaware of his tension.

"You look just like I imagined! Maybe a bit scarier, though," she added with a mischievous smile.

"Aww! You're so shy and cute!" She smiled kindly at him.

Then she turned back to Seiji, her tone shifting to inquisitive.

"I thought that Aoi would be your roommate, but when our mom mentioned that you two broke up, I felt a bit sorry for you..."

Seiji's frustration bubbled to the surface. "Wait, wait... Mom told you that I broke up with Aoi?!"

"Yeah..."

"Ugh... Damn! She can't keep any of my secrets..." Seiji sighed, rubbing his temples.

"I'm sorry!" Akemi said bowing, her voice laced with regret. "I hope I didn't cause you any problems by mentioning it, nii-san."

"No, it's not your fault. I should have anticipated this," Seiji replied, shifting back to a more rational tone. "I need to be more careful about what I disclose to her in the future..." He murmured under his nose.

"Alright then!" Akemi chirped, her cheerfulness returning. She went further into the apartment.

'She’s too… normal. Too bright. Why is that so… unsettling?'  Hideaki thought.

She scanned the room and inquired, asked "So, where will I sleep?"

"You can take the sofa," Seiji suggested.

At that moment, Hideaki's irritation flared. "W-what!? The sofa is mine!" he protested, narrowing his eyes.

Seiji just sighed. "And this is why I told you to behave," he said calmly, moving to the kitchen. "Make yourself at home, Akemi."

Hideaki ran after him, now anger was the emotion that dominated him.

"She's not taking my bed!" he protested.

Seiji shot him a glare. "You will vacate it for the weekend." He whispered to him. "She has no alternative."

"Huh!? Then where will I sleep!?" Hideaki demanded aggressively.

---

Seiji pointed towards the floor of his room. "Here."

Hideaki's expression soured, his eye twitched. "W H A T!?!?!? I'm not sleeping on the floor!"

"I have no other place to accommodate you, and the bed is mine," Seiji stated.

"Tch! I DON'T FUCKING CARE! I'm sure that if I'll be sleeping on floor, these monsters will have more easily to crawl at me during my sleep!" He pointed at the tarantulas in terrariums and then added "Besides, I want to sleep on something soft!" Hideaki demanded gazing at Seiji's bed.

Seiji saw his gaze on the furniture. "No." he sighed "First off, my spiders won't escape their terrariums so easily. I would have to let them go myself for them to begin crawling on you at night. And second, you will not take my bed."

"But I'm not gonna sleep on the floor!!"

"And I said no." Seiji kept his word.

Both men locked eyes, tension crackling between them. 

Just as it reached a boiling point, Akemi stepped into the room.

"Uh... I hope I didn't interrupt anything..." she ventured, her voice wavering.

Hearing her voice, Hideaki flinched a little.

"No, go ahead," Seiji quickly reassured, his tone softening as he turned to her.

"I wanted to ask... where can I put away my extra backpack?" she asked waving her bag in her hand.

"You can place it next to the couch. There's ample space for passage," Seiji replied, maintaining a calm demeanor.

Akemi's face lit up. "Oh, great!" Then, with a teasing glint in her eye, she asked, "Did you prepare... yu-ka-ta?"

Seiji sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yes, it's in the closet."

Akemi squealed, her excitement filling the room. "Eeek!!! It's so thrilling! I brought mine too!"

Seiji nodded. "You're really that excited for tomorrow, huh?"

"Yes! Just imagine, Tokyo, city lights and grand festival! I can't wait to wear my yukata!" Akemi continued, bouncing on her toes.

"Yes, though we should remain aware of the time and logistics. The festival can become overcrowded," he remarked, his analytical side surfacing.

"Oh... I understand! That makes sense!" Akemi chirped, undeterred by the tension in the air. "Oh right..." she suddenly turned to Hideaki. "So, am I to understand that he'll also be wearing yukata?"

Seiji glanced at Hideaki.

"Hideaki?" Seiji asked her

"Mhm!" she nodded.

"Well... Hideaki doesn't have a yukata."

"The... WHAT!?" Akemi gasped. "How is that possible!?"

"He simply doesn't have one," Seiji explained, shrugging dismissively.

"Then we have to buy one for him!" she declared, determination in her voice.

"Akemi... I don't...-" Seiji started, but her pleading expression melted his resolve. 'These might be her last vacations with me after all... Fine then...'

He sighed "Alright then... But I'm doing it only for you."

"Yay!" Akemi squealed, jumping up and down in delight. "Tomorrow we're going shopping!"

"Yeah, shopping... So it's better to eat some dinner and rest after today's journey. I can make something to eat," Seiji offered.

"Hmm... I could really have some Yakimeshi!" Akemi pondered aloud.
"The journey was tiring... and... I haven't had something you made in so long!"

Seiji chuckled quite proud of himself, "Then how about Yakimeshi with vegetables?"

"YES!"

As they moved to the kitchen, Hideaki lingered for a moment, glancing at Seiji's yukata. 'So, they do want to go to the festival tomorrow, huh...'

"Hideaki, are you coming?" Seiji called from the kitchen.

"Um... Y-Yeah... Tch!" Hideaki replied, shaking off his previous thoughts, irritation simmering beneath the surface.

'Don't you fucking dare think I'll sleep on that wooden floor, you idiot...'