Cicatrize

4

Over the course of the whole month, you and Touya had almost developed an unspoken routine. Everyday, he would sneak out early in the morning to train and you would already be there, reading in the garden.

You never told him to give up on impressing Enji after that one day, but you did start conversing with him normally. Sometimes, you'd remind him to eat breakfast and he'd just grumble in response, before walking back inside and grabbing a small granola bar.

You would often crunch up your face in disgust at his choice of food. You hate those granola bars, they remind you way too much of the ration bars you were forced to stuff down your throat to fight another day.

But there were times when you would just throw a bottle of water at him, making him narrowly catch it and scowl at you when you'd say, "You need it more than me, idiot." He would pick up the rocks and throw them at you but he would still always take the bottle of water with him.

Meanwhile, you and Rei didn't interact much after that morning, going back to your routines of her taking care of Shoto and you playing with the latter.

"[Name]!! Teach me how to read!!" You heard Shoto's high pitched voice squeak at your side, pulling you out of your thoughts as you smiled and pat his head, "Sure. You're already done with your hiragana and katakana, right?" He nodded fervently upon hearing your question, making you chuckle as you grabbed a stray piece of paper and wrote down a few kanjis, and in front of them, you wrote what they were read as in hiragana.

"Let's start with some easy kanji, then." The boy cheered happily as he scooted over to your side, practically hugging you and you couldn't help but notice it, "Shoto?"

He hummed happily and looked at you with his mismatched eyes shining in curiosity, "Why do you... always stick so close to me? You're not this close with Fuyumi... or Natsuo." You knew that despite you playing with Shoto more often, Fuyumi and Natsuo were much more of a fun company.

Granted, they were a lot more closer to Shoto in terms of mental age (you being 20-years old made it hard to get along with a 3-year old), but he still preferred you over them. Even if you being his twin is in factor, it doesn't change the fact that you might bore him with your actions.

"Huh? Because I like you the most!! You're my twin, so we gotta stick together. But even if you weren't, I'd still love you the most! Cause you're cool and you're like an adult already!" He raised his arms and pulled you into a tight hug, giggling happily when you gave him a small smile.

"I see, I guess that makes sense..." It really doesn't but you don't really know how a child's mind works, so you'll make do with his answer.

"Anyways, don't you have a more fun book? This is so boring..." He whined, sticking out his tongue to show his annoyance with it and you just let out a small chuckle, making him snap his head in your direction, "You laughed!!"

"Huh, of course I did. I'm not alexithymic." His expressions morphed into annoyance once more, but this for a completely different reason, "I told you, stop using big words! I don't understand that!"

You usually would have answered with a sorry, but for now, you decided to go along with his playfulness and stick your tongue out to tease him. He gasped obnoxiously before furrowing his eyebrows and jumping at you, "Ahh!! How dare you, villain?! You dare mock a hero?!"

"Oh, no... Someone help..." Your voice was much more monotone than his, making him pout at you, "Hey, now! Put your back into it! Do it more like-"

"Young master." Shoto was cut off by your family maid, you both turning your heads in her direction to see her smiling at you two, "Your father requests to see you, young master." While Shoto does seem a bit peeved that he had to stop play time, but he doesn't express it when he tugs your hand with his, "Oh... Okay, thank you for letting me know... Come on, [Name]."