Stories about real people

"Hikari, maybe we should talk another time..." I said and started to get up, but Hikari held my sleeve. I looked at him and he did not look good. Gritting his teeth and glaring angrily.

"What do you want?" Hikari asked. "Maybe I am doing something weird, but what has that got to do with you? It's not as if I'm going to live with your parents for much longer." What does that mean? Damn it, why does he keep saying things like that?

"Just because you don't live with us, doesn't mean no one will talk about you."

Hikari didn't respond, but I couldn't bring myself to leave. It felt as if he needed me there. It's silly, because any other time they must've argued, he would have handled it himself. Me standing there wouldn't make much of a difference.

"And you," Yuki said to me. "I don't know what homo things you are up to, but you didn't find a guy better than him? You have no idea how much of a troublemaker he is." He smirked in an annoying way. "He tells you all his victim stories as if he's the most pitiful person in the world, right? Let me tell you the truth, he's just a creep—"

"Stop it! If I knew you'd be coming home earlier today, then I wouldn't have called him." Hikari told him off.

I pulled Hikari up. "Come with me," I looked at Yuki, "Sorry for intruding. " I slightly bowed my head and Hikari stood up, I took my bag and we started walking outside.

"Just wait a second," Hikari said to me. "You go one ahead, I'll be there." Saying so, he insisted I leave the room, but curious what he was to do, I stood a distance away eavesdropping.

"What now?" Yuki said in an annoyed tone. He kind of sounded like Hikari.

"I'm not surprised you didn't notice it, but he's Souma Ayato." Hikari said in a malicious tone. "Saeko's little brother. Of course, you don't remember. Even though she used to show us both pictures of him... because you never really cared, did you?"

Yuki did sound surprised. "Why would I care about someone like him?"

"You know how much she cared about him! She never let you meet him because she knew you'd behave like this! I didn't want him to see you either... All you've done is to act like a jerk! You lied to me about what happened in your school, you know Saeko didn't tell me about it, so why did you have to lie?!" Hikari sounded as if he was about to cry.

"And what about you? You kept acting like a girl! Do you know how much grandfather used to pressure Mom and Dad to kick you out? Or to send you to some facility? My parents still kept you and worried about you all day, and this is what you give them in return?" Yuki kept talking. "You ruined my childhood from the day you were born! They all were so busy with you that they never even looked at me! And you got away with everything! You think they'd let me do that?!"

"They cared about you! Everyone, even Saeko only cared about you! But you've only ever acted like an ungrateful jerk!" I could hear a hiccup, and I decided to step back inside.

Yuki stood with folded arms and Hikari hid his face behind his wet sleeves. I almost punched Yuki in the face.

"Listen," I told Yuki as politely as I could. "There are a lot of things I don't know, that involve you and my sister. But what I do know is that, when she died and I was alone, Hikari helped me get over it. I consider him a good friend before anything else, so I don't like it when you talk to him like that. Especially when you have a stranger over at your house."

I said it and pulled Hikari outside with me, pushing Yuki aside with my shoulder while at it. In front of the main door, I forced him to sit down and put his shoes on for him. He was still half crying and muttering illegible things. I grabbed his hand and pulled him outside.

"Stop crying and look at me." He made a sobbing noise again and did not listen to me. I sighed and kept dragging him straight down the road. I saw the small cafe with open outside seats. The sun was nearly setting, so we went in there. I bought a single piece of pastry and brought it to Hikari on a corner table.

"You don't look so good, don't faint on me." I pushed the plate towards him. "Eat."

"Souma... I'm sorry you had to see that jerk." He whimpered and I regretted not hitting Yuki when I still had the chance. I kept insisting he ate first because he looked even weaker than usual. He picked up the fork and started taking small pieces of it. "It's too sweet." He complained but continued eating.

"Then you can tell me, what the hell that was."

And I heard a story much more messed up than I was ready to hear. How Yuki and Souma were tangled up into something weird, and how everyone in both families knew of it and no one told me. "Saeko cherished you so much, Souma. And she was the only one nice to me." So after her death, Hikari couldn't help but 'check on' me and see how I was doing.

I also realized that Saeko wasn't actually nice to him. She was just... brutally honest, and she told him to do some very weird things. To not want things, to not hope for good things to happen and to not become a burden on people. Somehow, Hikari followed the principles to heart. That's why sometimes it really looked as if Hikari was just like Saeko.

"I liked girly things. Magazines about clothes and I liked skirts. I used to have long hair too, before my Mom died. She used to do it for fun, I think, and Yuki says that messed with my head and I started doing things like that." Saeko became the first person in his life to allow him to do those things without judgment. She taught him to hide those parts of him for when he could freely live for himself. Until then, he'd have to hide. "I don't do it anymore... but I still want to, sometimes... Maybe something really is wrong with me."

Hikari practically worshipped Saeko's words. "Someone can't always be right," I told him.

"But you must know, she really was! She always knew what I was thinking!" She only ever interfered when I wanted her to. How did she read my mind like that? "And she always gave a realistic suggestion. You can't change everyone around you, so you have to change yourself." Maybe, blending in so smoothly was the special thing about her.

Saeko and Yuki ended things on a bad note. Hikari also didn't know what exactly happened, and only Yuki could tell us the truth. But our parents who were supposed to be friends, stopped talking. "You know, Souma, your parents recognize me. That's why I never came near your house. They probably wouldn't let you talk to me."

Then Hikari would do that annoying thing again. "But, you know, it wasn't completely Yuki's fault either." He said with a sad smile. "His parents did put so much pressure on him, to always do the best in everything. He used to be harsher... but I know he did love her. Her death changed him a lot, you wouldn't recognize Yuki from an year ago."

"I don't care. He keeps saying nonsense about you, so don't you dare defend him now." Yuki had even beaten up Hikari once, but he didn't complain about it to anyone except Saeko, who in turn told him to hide it too. She liked that Yuki so much, it pissed me off.

"Well, when you get mad on behalf of me, I forget that I was even supposed to be angry."