Heat

[The morning]

Seiji stirred, his body tense from the restless night. His eyes immediately darted toward Hideaki, still bound, his head lolling slightly to one side. The ropes Seiji had tied held firm, but Hideaki's expression - uneasy even in sleep - reminded him of the knife, the threat, the manic grin.

For a moment, Seiji simply sat on the edge of the bed. He ran a hand over his face, exhaling slowly.

'No serious cuts. No bruises. But that was close. Too close. This can't happen again,'

he thought, his jaw tightening.

'I let my guard down, and he almost killed me. I can't afford to be this careless.'

Pushing himself to his feet, he checked the knots securing Hideaki, ensuring they were still tight.

Seiji knelt beside Hideaki, studying his unconscious form.

"You really are a ticking time bomb," he murmured under his breath, his voice tinged with a mix of frustration and determination. "But I've come this far. I'm not giving up on you now."

With a deep breath, he stood and headed to the kitchen.

He took a quick glance at the couch in living room, where Akemi was sleeping - still peacfully.

He exhaled with a relief and began brewing coffee, the mundane task grounding him as his mind mapped out the next steps.

'Sometimes I wonder what'll kill me first. Him... or my caffeine addiction.'

Seiji grimly thought.

When the coffee was ready, Seiji returned to the room and placed the cup on the desk, its aroma filling the air. He leaned back against the wall, arms crossed, his piercing gaze fixed on Hideaki.

"When you wake up," he said softly, more to himself than anyone else, "we're going to have a serious conversation. And this time, you'll listen."

***

Hideaki woke up to find his arms and legs tied. His face immediately shifted from confusion to irritation.

"H-huh!?" He blurted out, pulling against the restraints.

He turned to see Seiji sitting on the bed beside him, casually reading a book. Frustration built up as he wriggled closer, poking Seiji's arm.

After a moment, Seiji slowly closed his book, his eyes caught at the sight of Hideaki's irritated face.

"Oh... you're awake."

Hideaki's eyes narrowed. "Yeah! And why the hell am I tied up!?" he snapped.

Seiji sighed, his voice calm but with clear irritation. "Because last night, you nearly gave me a heart attack. Again."

"Huh? What are you talking about!?"

"Picture this," Seiji said, turning slowly to him. "You're asleep, minding your own business, and suddenly, you wake up to see a psycho hovering over you with a knife, grinning like he's about to carve you up. Sound familiar?"

Hideaki scoffed. "I d-don't remember anything like that! That kind of stuff only happens in movies." his eyes flashing with defiance.

Seiji shot him a skeptical look. "Right... Are you seriously trying to act like you didn't just try to kill me last night?"

A brief pause. Hideaki's face twitched. "Tch... M-maybe."

"Maybe??" Seiji snapped a little, but then he exhaled sharply.

His gaze landed on steaming coffee.

He stood up slowly, stepping away from the bed and reached for his cup of coffee, lifting it to his lips.

The bitter taste grounding him for a fleeting moment.

"Tch!" Hideaki suddenly hissed, clinging his fists, "I-I don't know! Besides..." He digged nails into his skin from growing nerves "A-aren't you going to untie me!?"

Seiji's gaze drifted back where Hideaki was tied up.

He sighed. His voice lowered, but the words hung in the air with intention.

"I really shouldn't do this after your little 'act' during the night," he leaned over "but knowing you, you would whine about it to my ear over and over..." his movements slow and deliberate.

"Tch... I just wanted to protect myself," Hideaki mumbled.

Seiji raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so now you remember? Funny how that works."

"F-fuck..."

Seiji loosened the knots.

When he was done, he tossed the rope onto the bed without a second glance.

Hideaki began rubbing his wrists from the lingering pain.

Seiji reached for his cup again, bringing it to his lips with a quiet sigh of relief.

He felt the strong bitterness of the coffee — just the way he liked it.

Then, his voice dropped, cold and calculating. He didn't need to raise it to be sharp. "Last night, you completely lost control. Again. This bloody dagger you put to my neck? You'd move it an inch further and you would kill me."

He continued, setting the cup down, his eyes narrowing.

"Just tell me. What kind of messed-up logic are you working with? Do you even think? Or is thinking beyond your own chaos too much to ask?"

Hideaki gulped, "Sh-shut up!" he barked back, frustrated and trying to act as Seiji's words didn't affect him.

Seiji pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to suppress his growing frustration. "Do you ever stop to think about what would happen if my sister walked in to find me dead?"

Hideaki was trembling a little, opening his mouth to speak, but Seiji raised his hand to stop him.

"Don't bother, I'll tell you." Seiji's expression hardened. "She would have called the police, the ambulance, and with that, you would have been caught. So tell me, what do you have in your defense?"

Hideaki stiffened, the words hitting him harder than expected.

He didn't know how to respond, slipping into anxious silence, and with that he started to scratch his hands from nerves.

Seiji noticed that and sighed internally. His patience wore thinner. "So? Nothing to say? Or is running away from responsibility the only thing you're good at?" his fingers curling around his coffee cup.

"I... I..." Hideaki stammered, feeling sweat from growing stress and how his hands began to itch from scratching.

He took a shaky deep inhale, before his voice turned defensive,

"I-I don't know, okay!? Give me a break!" his voice cracked, frustration mixing with anxiety.

Seiji's gaze hardened. "No. I'm not leaving you alone until you face this properly."

"No! I'm not telling you anything!" Hideaki snapped with his heart beating faster, attempting to flee further the bed, however his leg slipped over a blanket, and he fell from bed, crashing to the floor with a loud thud.

Seiji stood over him, his voice icy. "Of course, running. That's all you ever do. You can't even take responsibility when you're tied down. Pathetic."

He looked at Hideaki from the top

"You're a psycho," he murmured quietly, his tone flat. "But that doesn't mean I'll let you win. Not over me. Not over anyone."

Without another glance, Seiji walked out of the room, heading for the kitchen. "Get yourself together. Something like this will happen again, and this won't end well for you otherwise." he remarked, his tone flat, his frustration barely contained.

Hideaki was left alone, grappling with his own thoughts.

'S-stupid Seiji... I-'  then he stopped and gazed at his reflection in the window

'Why do I always have to fuck up everything I do...'

>>>

In the meantime, Akemi had already made her way to the kitchen, fully awake.

She cast a concerned glance at her brother, who wore a calm yet subtly guarded expression.

Seiji appeared composed, as usual, but Akemi had overheard enough to sense that something wasn't quite right. She approached him and greeted him softly, "Hey, Seiji..."

Seiji, ever composed, turned to her with his usual detached yet warm tone. "Morning, Akemi. You're up early."

"Yeah, I'm up. And... actually, there's something I wanted to ask you." Akemi wasn't going to be easily sidetracked, though.

"Sure. What's up?" He asked, glancing at his phone.

She could sense that something was off. "Are you going to tell me what was going on between you and Hideaki?"

Feigning ignorance, Seiji raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I heard you two arguing. It sounded serious," Akemi said, lowering her voice slightly, as if trying not to attract too much attention.

Seiji's internal alarm went off, but outwardly he remained unfazed. He calmly calculated his next response. "You must've heard wrong. We were just... talking about something." He said calmly, hoping to dismiss her concerns.

Akemi wasn't so easily convinced.

"Are you sure? Because that didn't sound like a casuall chat."

"Yes, I'm sure." Seiji replied calmly.

Then from his bedroom could be heard quite a loud 'tch' and a thud.

'Typicall...'  Seiji sighed, as he gazed back at the slightly ajar door of his room.

Through the crack, a shadow could be seen — too still to be accidental.

"What's going on there?" Akemi asked "Is everything alright with Hideaki?"

Seiji inhaled through his teeth and answered with hold up irritation "Yes, Akemi. Hideaki is alright."

"That tone of yours isn't convincing me..." Akemi said back, adding "Whatever it is, you two should get along."

Seiji's face remained neutral, but his tone was laced with frustration. "We? Oh no, no. It's his fault that we had that... argue."

'I knew it!' Akemi exclaimed proudly in her head, then she crossed her arms, tilting her head.

"It could be anyone's fault, but... it doesn't change the fact that he's your friend and he lives with you."

'I wouldn't call him a friend instantly but, whatever...'  Seiji sighed,

Akemi continued "You see each other every day. If there's a problem you see and he doesn't, maybe you should help him with it?"

---"I'll fix this. No matter what it costs me. No more mistakes. Next time, I'll be ready for whatever he tries."---

"You see..." Seiji started. The weariness in his voice subtle but present. "I want to help him, Akemi. I really do. But the thing is, he's usually... erratic. Uncontrollable. And for worse, very stubborn."

Akemi gave a small, thoughtful nod. "Then maybe you need to try a different approach. Not everyone will respond to how you usually solve problems."

Seiji looked at her, considering her words carefully. "And what kind of approach would work on someone as unpredictable as him? He doesn't operate on logic or reason."

"I don't know... But knowing you, sooner or later, you'll come up with something! You and mom have helped me so many times with homework. Even when the problems seemed impossible. Even when mom and I didn't understand, you didn't give up. You pushed forward to assist me. You did everything you could, to make things right."

Seiji reminisced about how he used to assist her when they were both younger.

The truth was, he put in a great deal of effort for her sake.

He didn't want her to struggle in school, even though he noticed how much she preferred to daydream and pursue other interests. Despite her occasional annoyance, he always tried his best for her.

He sighed deeply "Yes... That's true... But still, I think you should have sit up to the studying by yourself. Me and mom won't be guiding you forever."

This time Akemi let out a big exhausted sigh "I know, nii-san, I know.... Eh..." she gazed at Seiji again, compassion evident in her eyes "I believe you'll manage here too. You just need time... and peace."

Seiji exhaled, his gaze lowering in thought. "Well... Speaking of peace... (Which I definetly don't have one right now...) When I'm nervous, my emotions tend to get the better of me... Sometimes I become bossy, wanting things to go my way..."

Akemi's grin widened, sensing a breakthrough. "You see? If you're constantly at each other's throats, you won't accomplish anything."

There was a brief silence between them. As if Seiji really was considering her words.

'Usually, I try to teach others how to understand things, how to behave properly... Yet, some people won't respond well to my words... Doesn't matter how logical they are. Just like it was with Aoi...'

Seiji analyzed. His expression hardened again, the introspection quickly locked behind a mental wall. He shot her a sideways glance, his voice dry:

"Thanks for the lecture. I'll be sure to take advice on emotional management from the girl who cried over a cracked phone screen."

"H-hey!" Akemi shot him a glare, offended.

"Heh." A low, almost condescending chuckle slipped from him. He paused, then added — still sounding unimpressed, though a trace of reluctant approval slipped through: "But... as annoying as it is, maybe you've picked up some wisdom along the way."

"Well, gee thanks... You really do know how to compliment someone, do you?" Akemi said rolling her eyes.

Seiji's lips quirked into the faintest smirk — almost imperceptible, but there.

"Flattery builds weakness," he muttered, mostly to himself.

"You could be less cruel sometimes..." she said quietly, the warmth in her voice dimmed, though not entirely gone.

"Cruelty sharpens character," he replied flatly, as if stating a universal truth rather than addressing her feelings.

A pause, then quieter — almost like a concession masked as logic:

"Besides, you bounce back fast enough."

"Oh yeah, sure... Because I am that cheerfull all the time..." Akemi murmured clearly offended, but Seiji didn't bother.

"Of course." he grinned.

"You know, if you're going to ‘smarting up’ again like you usually do, then I'd be more than happy to leave you with it, and do better things, in toilet!"

"Better things like what? Peeing?" Seiji asked deadpan.

"Exactly!" She finished and she closed the door to the bathroom with a loud smash.

"What the hell did I tell you about slamming the door!?" Seiji snapped, but as a response he didn't hear anything back.

---

Meanwhile, Hideaki couldn't help but eavesdrop on the entire conversation between the siblings.

His hands tingled with the flow of mana as he listened intently.

'Am I really that chaotic as Seiji's saying..?'

He pondered, but suddenly, he heard a loud sigh.

"How much longer are you going to stand there?" Seiji said, his tone calm, but firm.

Hideaki flinched.

A moment of silence.

Then, Seiji spoke again, "You need to work on your understanding of light angle. Your shadow gave you away. And don't even try to come up with some stupid excuse to justify that you 'weren't' there."

A short sigh was heard from behind the door, followed by the creak of the floorboards.

The door slowly opened.

Hideaki stood in the doorway — disheveled, shoulders tense, and an expression that tried to feign indifference.

"Tch... I was just... passing by." Hideaki grumbled, with mock anger

"Really?" Seiji asked coldly " Because from my perspective, it looked like you'd been standing in the same spot for several minutes."

He made a short pause, his tone sharpened

"And was listening."

Hideaki froze.

He clenched his fists, his breathing quickened — visibly struggling between denying and confessing.

Finally, he blurted out:

"I wasn't eavesdropping! I just... heard you saying something!"

Seiji smirked sarcastically,

"Right, you just 'heard something.' And just happened  to hear everything from start to finish. What a coincidence."

There was a short silence.

"Honestly, you should invest more effort in subtlety than in pretending. If you're going to eavesdrop, at least learn to make it look convincing."

He tilted his head slightly. "And next time, at least try not to breathe so loud when you're spying."

Hideaki lowered his head. Shame and anger warred in his eyes — that characteristic mix of emotions that always preceded his next outbursts.

"But that's not the point..." Seiji added after a moment. He entered the room, passing Hideaki, and pointed to the bed. "Mind if I sit?" he asked, his tone neutral, controlled.

"Y-yeah... I guess..." Hideaki muttered, trying to appear nonchalant. He lowered head, hair hiding his face and he clenched his fists. The anxiety evident in his stiffened form.

Seiji sat down and showed Hideaki to sit next to him.

Hideaki took a deep breath, observing him carefully, but he proceeded to sit.

Seiji's gaze lingered on Hideaki, who's face hidden behind his hair. The killer began to again scratch his hands nervously.

'He's doing this again. At this point his hands will look like some very hostile cat attacked him...'

Then, the memories flashed through his mind - An image of Hideaki being all anxious during the festival... The viral video, and the night before...

'Hideaki, he's impulsive, stubborn, erratic, and completely out of his mind once he got himself on sharp tools. Literally a psychopath. But in order to take a step toward fixing him, I must first make it clear to him that doing everything with violence, stress and anger is not the answer. But... different.'

Seiji's thoughts lingered for a moment before he spoke again, his voice steady but laced with subtle concern.

"Hideaki." He called out his name to turn his attention. "You don't seem okay," Seiji remarked, his sharp gaze landing on Hideaki. "I know you're trying to act like nothing's wrong, but you're not exactly good at hiding it."

Hideaki tensed further, he began scratch his hands even harder with every passing second. "Tch! Shut up... I'm f-fine." His voice wavered slightly, betraying the storm of emotions beneath his words.

Seiji let out a soft, measured sigh, leaning forward slightly. "No, you're not fine. And it's visible. Let me help you. For your own and everyone else's good." He added dryly, but seeing that he didn't make any positive reaction on him, he turned back to serious tone

"Look. During the festival, you were very anxious." He started "Even though we did some fun, you still had that fear, lingering on the back of your head, don't you?"

Hideaki's head shot up, his eyes wide and panicked for a brief second before he quickly looked away.

"I d-don't know what you're talking a-about," he mumbled, but his trembling and scratching hands gave him away.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Seiji replied, his voice calm yet firm. "And it wasn't only the festival. Your emotional breakdown at the hospital. That day when you destroyed my apartment. Last night."

He paused and sighed heavily.

"In general... You let your emotions take over, and things spiraled out of control. I get it - you're under pressure. But if you keep reacting that way, it's only going to get worse. Last night was an evidence of that."

Hideaki stayed silent, his breathing uneven.

Seiji sighed quietly, moving closer to him, voice softer now.

He wasn't great at situations like this. Comforting people - it wasn't something he had experience with. Usually, he relied on a logical approach to problems, but now... Hideaki didn't need logic. He needed something else.

"Listen... I'm not saying this to tear you down. Maybe I can be mean sometimes... okay, I am mean. But that doesn't mean I don't...-" He paused again.

He.. what?

Appreciated him?

Wanted him to get a grip on his whole persona?

Thought of having a normal relation with him?

Seiji looked away, sucking in air through his teeth.

Hideaki shifted slightly on the bed but didn't respond. Seiji continued:

"Just..." Seiji started "This morning, I let my frustration from that night at you. And you shouldn't blame me for this. Every normal person would react that way. Because who the hell attacks others during their sleep?"

Hideaki gulped "M-me.." he said after a while.

Seiji exhaled through his nose "Exactly. You. But that's not how this works. We both need to find better ways of dealing with things."

Hideaki let out a quiet hiss, barely a response, his face hidden behind his hair and his scratching began to focus into his arms as well.

Seiji leaned back slightly, giving Hideaki space, but he didn't waver. His eyes remained sharp, calculating. "We don't have to like each other's methods, but if we're going to live here together, we need to find some kind of balance. So, how about it? Can we stop this back-and-forth and try to work through things without tearing each other apart?"

Hideaki paused, glancing at Seiji from behind his hair. He felt a light relief from his chest.

"A-alright..."

Seiji gave a small nod, "Good," he said, satisfied with the resolution, at least for now.

[A moment later]

The bathroom door opened with a faint creak.

Akemi stepped out, drying her hands with a towel and stretching lazily.

"Ugh… I thought I was going to fall asleep in there," she muttered with a yawn, heading toward the kitchen.

But she stopped when she caught sight of Seiji’s room door slightly ajar. From inside came the sound of quiet conversation — no raised voices, no tension, just something... much gentler.

Curious, she peeked inside.

Seiji and Hideaki were sitting on the bed.

Seiji looked calm, as if they’d just finished a long, serious talk, while Hideaki — still a little tense — seemed to be actually listening this time.

No angry gestures, no sarcasm. Just silence, but not the heavy kind from before. It felt... peaceful.

Akemi tilted her head and said in a light, teasing tone,

"Hey, you two philosophers. Solving the world’s problems or what?"

Both of them looked at her. Seiji sighed softly, though there was something gentler in his eyes than usual.

"More like local problems," he replied evenly.

"Mhm, sure." Akemi crossed her arms, pretending to be serious, then sighed theatrically.

"You know what, I’ve got a real problem. I’m hungry. Seiji, make breakfast."

Seiji raised an eyebrow.

"Again? Can’t you, for once in your life, make something yourself?"

"No, because last time I tried, I almost burned the frying pan!" she shot back without hesitation, then added with a small smile,

"Besides, you make the best scrambled eggs. Don’t even try to deny it."

Hideaki, who had been quiet up to that point, glanced at the two of them — and to his own surprise, let out a small, almost invisible laugh under his breath.

Akemi caught it instantly.

"Oh! Was that a smile? Look at that, Hideaki’s coming back to life! That’s a sign it’s breakfast time!"

Seiji turned his gaze away, though the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

"I can’t tell which one of you is more childish — you or him," he muttered, getting up from the bed.

Akemi just shrugged, her smile softening as she watched them head toward the kitchen.

She lingered for a moment — looking at her brother, whose face was finally free of tension, and at Hideaki, who didn’t look ready to explode.

A quiet, warm smile spread across her face.

"Well… finally, a bit of normalcy," she whispered to herself.

***

After breakfast, the three of them were watching the morning news when a report came up about upcoming electricity cuts.

"How lame... How I will charge up my phone and update my status on social media then?" Akemi whined. "My phone battery is dying. I need to plug it in before it completely dies off and—"

Just before she could finish her sentence, the entire apartment was plunged into darkness.

The TV turned off, the air conditioning stopped, and it was clear that the power wouldn't come back anytime soon.

"Great timing," Seiji muttered dryly, clearly annoyed. He had been about to make another coffee, but that plan was now on hold.

With a quick glance at his phone, Seiji checked for updates on the power outage — and within a second, all of them let out a collective, "HUUUUUUH?!"

"The power's going to be out for three hours?!" Seiji exclaimed, irritated.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Hideaki grumbled, equally annoyed.

"They will pay me somehow... for not letting me charge my phone!" Akemi chimed in, just as angry.

---

As the temperature in the apartment began to rise, Seiji observed both Akemi and Hideaki becoming increasingly restless.

Akemi tried to fan herself with her hand, to little effect. The sun blazed through the windows, heating the room like an oven.

Hideaki simply laid on the sofa, not moving as he was too exhausted to do any moves.

Seiji, noticing the growing discomfort, glanced outside.

'Summer... One of the worst seasons ever. That heat is unbearable.'

Seiji wiped his forehead, feeling the heat in the apartment slowly starting to wear him down. He glanced at Akemi, who was fanning herself with her hand, and at Hideaki, who looked like he was about to melt into the couch.

"If this lasts for three hours, at this rate we’ll all be cooked alive," he muttered dryly, setting his cup down on the table.

"I am cooking! I feel like a chicken in an oven!" Akemi groaned.

"At least things smell good in an oven…" Seiji added sarcastically.

Akemi shot him an irritated look, then sighed theatrically. "It’d be best if we just went somewhere…"

Hideaki mumbled from under his pillow,

"I don’t feel like walking… I wanna sleep… Besides, where would we even go? It’s hot everywhere."

Seiji glanced toward the curtained window, through which the blinding sunlight streamed in.

He stayed silent for a moment, as if analyzing all possible options — then spoke in the tone of someone who had just calculated the most efficient solution to the problem:

"To the beach."

Akemi lifted her head sharply, unsure if she heard him right.

"…The beach? You? Voluntarily?!"

Seiji gave her a cool, confident look.

"Yes. Logically speaking, it’s the only place that’s not stuffy, and at least we can cool off there. Water, wind, open space. Better than sitting here in a sauna."

Hideaki pushed himself up from the couch, rubbing his eyes.

Though still half-asleep, he looked at Seiji with mild surprise — but also with something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Maybe even… curiosity.

Meanwhile, Seiji stood up, stretched, and said calmly,

"Alright. You’ve got ten minutes. If you’re not ready by then, I’m leaving alone."

Akemi laughed, a little amused by how serious Seiji sounded about the whole thing.

"Okay, okay, nii-san. Don’t get so worked up."