Nukume Dori
by Leareth
Annex I: The Bubbly Girl
Hokuto and Seishirou stared as Subaru abruptly stood up. "I'm going for a walk," Subaru said shortly, squashing the hat over his eyes. "Have a good time on your date, Hokuto-chan."
Before either of them could say anything Subaru had stormed out of the booth. Speechless, Hokuto watched her brother as he weaved through the other customers to the door, finally exiting the McDonalds completely. Only when the glass doors swung shut did she manage to pick her jaw up from the metaphorical floor. "Well," she said at last to her remaining lunch companion, "that was certainly—"
"Unexpected?" suggested Seishirou.
"I was going to say 'rude', but that works too." Jaw set, Hokuto grabbed the drink Subaru had left and put the straw in her mouth. Much to her irritation there was hardly any cola left save for a little down the bottom that was more ice-melt than anything else, and she pushed it away with a scowl. "What is wrong with Subaru nowadays?" she said in an exasperated voice. "I swear sometimes I hardly recognize him."
Seishirou lifted a questioning eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Just, just – I don't know. A lot of things." Hokuto paused, trying to put her feelings into words. "He's become somewhat withdrawn, and harder to talk to, as if there's something that's preoccupying him. And he doesn't smile as much. I've left him alone about it because I trust him to tell me eventually, but I've been waiting for the last few weeks. I'm getting very short on patience, I'll tell you that."
"Is it something to do with me?"
Hokuto stopped. She looked at the man sitting across the table from her. Seishirou's expression was inquiring, concerned, but a metallic scent and something about those eyes behind the glasses … without knowing why Hokuto shivered, and more inexplicably, a little twinge of apprehension slid down her spine. It had happened a number of times lately over the past several weeks, and almost always whenever she around Seishirou. She didn't know the reason for it. "I don't know. I don't think so, since whenever I mention you he just replies and – wait, that's another thing!" Hokuto's eyes widened another piece of the maddening puzzle turned the right way up. "Whenever I mention you, he doesn't act all cute and flustered! Not to say that it doesn't happen, but sometimes, if he's fallen into one of those silent, staring-into-space moods he seems to get into lately, and I try to break it by teasing him about you, he just replies absent-mindedly whereas before it was guaranteed that dropping your name would at the very least make him blush!"
Seishirou frowned. "Do you think something's happened to him?" he asked, amber gaze concerned. "You know how Subaru-kun is; he's so quick to blame himself for things that aren't his fault. That case with the prank call girls, how one of them was killed, maybe that?"
"Maybe. But it's been going on for quite a long time now, and for some reason I don't think it's simply because of that case anymore, there's something else. I just can't for the life of me imagine what." Hokuto sighed, suddenly feeling tired. There were other things as well, things that she didn't feel right about voicing, not the least being the fact that she and Subaru had started to quarrel. That matter was purely between her and her brother; one did not air family laundry out in public, even if the public here was a close friend. "I'm just hoping that he'll tell me soon, because it's driving me crazy."
There was a short pause as the two of them mulled over the subject of discussion. Around them the various conversations mixed together into an incomprehensible stew punctuated at intervals by laughter or exclamation. "Should I talk to him?" asked Seishirou at last.
Hokuto hesitated. It probably would be a good idea for Seishirou to speak to Subaru; after all, despite the protests and embarrassment whenever Hokuto teased him about their relationship it couldn't be denied that Subaru placed a great deal of stock in what Seishirou had to say. Actually, it was a very good idea. Then why was she hesitating?
Something … something she should remember slipping out of reach …
"Hokuto-chan?"
Hokuto shook her head. It was gone. Either that or she had never had it in the first place, whatever 'it' was. "Not yet," she said firmly. She pushed the cuff of her fuzzy jacket up to check her watch – time was getting on and she did have to go home and to change. "I'll give my brother a little bit more time to open up. If he still doesn't, feel free to talk to him all you want. Or do anything else." She winked mischievously as she stood up, more to relieve the tone of the conversation than anything else; it had been getting quite sombre and that was not something she liked to be as a rule. "Anyway, I should go home – I need get changed for my date."
Seishirou stood up to go as well. "Oh, you don't need to change; you look wonderful as it is!"
"Don't be silly! When you're going out at night what you wear is a totally different story to what you'd wear during the day! You men don't know anything!"
The veterinarian pretended to look hurt. "Shall I give you a lift?" he asked.
Hokuto shook her head. "No need; it's not difficult to get home from here, and you've got work to be getting back to. Sometimes I wonder, Sei-chan, how you manage to keep your practice going, you seem to take so many breaks and holidays!"
"Oh, didn't I tell you?" replied Seishirou, pulling on his coat. "I work a second job to supplement my income."
Hokuto's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And what, may I ask, is this second job?"
"Here at McDonalds," Seishirou said with a perfectly straight face.
"Sei-chan!"
"No, really! I work the night shift!"
Hokuto rolled her eyes. "Sometimes you can be so ridiculous."
"Oh, I know." Seishirou leaned down to look into her face and grin. "But I saw you smiling."
"That's because you, Sakurazuka Seishirou-san, are such a clown." She mimed an affectionate hit at his chest, in response to which Seishirou pretended to stumble, causing Hokuto to giggle and the patrons of the restaurant to give them yet another series of looks ranging from the curious to the exasperated, none of which either Hokuto or Seishirou paid any attention to as they passed by. Together, the two of them left.
"You know, there's another possible reason for Subaru-kun's behaviour lately," said Seishirou as they exited the glass doors and headed towards his van. Over the city skyline grey clouds were gathering, low and heavy. There would be rain before the day ended, Hokuto observed, she would have to take that into account when dressing for tonight "It could just be that Subaru-kun is growing up."
Hokuto paused, balancing on one foot perched on the curb of the car park, arms slightly spread for balance like a butterfly about to take flight. "It's likely," she admitted. Suddenly the wind picked up, blowing right through her stockings, and she flinched, setting her other foot down and beginning to walk again a little faster. "But we're twins, what could possibly happen that would change Subaru and not me?"
"Even though you're twins, Hokuto-chan, you are still two separate people," said Seishirou, following behind. "Just by living each day, going about your different schedules and activities you grow away from each other. It's not just lately; from the beginning the two of you have had such different personalities—"
"I know that, Sei-chan," said Hokuto perhaps a little sharply. They came to the van and stopped. Hokuto turned around. "What I mean is how can Subaru change so much that he becomes someone I can't recognize?"
"That," said Seishirou gently, "is something only Subaru-kun can answer."
Hokuto sighed. "So in other words it comes back down to me being patient and waiting for him to say something. Well, fine. But he had better say something soon, because I'm getting very tired of being patient."
Seishirou smiled encouragingly and reached into his pocket for his keys. The beep of the central locking being undone echoed forlornly in the cold air. "I'm sure he'll come around," he said as he opened the van's door. "It is Subaru-kun after all."
"Yeah." Hokuto smiled back. "Thanks, Sei-chan."
"My pleasure." Seishirou got into the van. "Have a good time on your date, Hokuto-chan."
Hokuto waved as the engine started up. She kept waving as the van reversed out of the parking bay then pulled away from her. Once it had, she stopped waving. Her smile disappeared. As good as it had been to be able to talk to Seishirou, nothing useful had come out of it, no answers, no flashes of insight, nothing. Just the suggestion that she should be patient. Of course, she shouldn't have expected anything. After all, how could a lone wolf like Seishirou possibly understand how painful it was for her to watch the soul to whom she was inexplicably linked move farther and farther away?
It was cold. Hokuto shivered, quickly heading for the train station and buying her ticket. Now was not the time to dwell on such things. Instead, she would put the matter out of her mind, at least for tonight, and face it later. Until then, she would take Seishirou's advice and wait until her brother was ready to speak. Hokuto only hoped for both their sakes, it would be soon.
The ticket gate swung open. Hokuto went through and headed for her platform with a determined step. Somewhere in Tokyo, it was beginning to rain.
Chapter Eight Chapter Nine