SUNSET DRIVE ☼ k.rengoku x reader

11; Just A Friend

Track 11; Moral of the Story by Ashe

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You had a love-hate relationship with Chicago. Not only was it the only city you had ever grown up in, the weather could vastly change within a second. Autumn and spring brought a mix of warm and cold fronts with usually sunny skies. Summers are warm and humid, leaving a sticky layer of sweat over your skin anytime you step outside. The winters were the worst in your opinion, there's almost always an overabundance of snow plus some negative degree weather. The wind that swept in off of Lake Michigan had a habit of making the city feel colder than Siberia, as well; like a giant razor blade blowing down the street.

So needless to say, you were almost desperate to make sure Inosuke wore all of his layers when he was outside.

You stood in the foyer of the orphanage. Dust particles from the rafters fall onto your beanie as the children who aren't old enough to go to school yet shriek and run around upstairs. For being in a "state of the art facility", the walls sure were crumbling around you. Inosuke is in front of you, emerald irises burning a hole into the ceiling above your head. You brush the dust off with a hand and finish buttoning up his undercoat. You finish your sisterly responsibilities by zipping up his overcoat and giving him a pat on the head. Even at 13 he struggled with the buttons and still did his damndest to fight you off when you took over for him. He attempts to sneakily hit you, but you block his incoming fist with your elbow. His fingers crack upon impact.

You'd respond with a smack to the back of his head and tell him: "you get sick, we get separated and I won't be able to protect you anymore."

He knew the rules, though: if he started to sweat he had to take some off. Seeing that the two of you were out the orphanage's doors as soon as school time came around and didn't show up until after the slop they served as dinner, if you weren't in school you were on the streets.

A boy who's roughly the same age as you elbows your rib cage when he slings his jacket over his shoulders. You and him aren't the only ones layering up in the foyer—at least a dozen others are stuffed into the cramped area. You cringe at the jab and rub at your side. Inosuke locks onto the interaction like a highly trained guard dog and turns to attack. Your grip on the front of his jacket blocks him from advancing any further. In order to prevent a scene from breaking out before the asscrack of dawn, you tighten your grip and haul him out the door. His "Hey!" of protest falls deaf on your ears.

You don't let go of him until you've reached the bottom of the shoveled and salted stairs out front. The lady who ran the place sure didn't care about you and the other kids, but at least her husband had the decency to make sure none of you slipped and cracked your head open during the winter. You let out a heavy sigh and adjust your backpack on your shoulders before turning and marching down the street. Most of the neighbors around here shoveled the sidewalks in front of their house. The others didn't, meaning the snow that was plowed off of the roads were now compacted and practically ice underneath your boots. Fortunately you had a knack for walking on icy pathways such as these and could get around without much struggle.

It helped having expensive winter boots you had smuggled out of the mall a few weeks ago after seeing the weatherman theorize the snowfall this year. You look back over your shoulder at your little brother as you walk down the road. He doesn't have 'skater legs' as he calls them, so his route of travel is a bit more unsteady than yours. That's why you'd gotten him a pair of boots, too.

"Slow down!" Inosuke griped from behind you.

"Haven't I told you a thousand times how to keep up with me?" You reply without a second of hesitation. "No wonder we're always late to school." You say it like you don't skip it in the first place to work.