The Mute [OHSHC][EDITING]

Chapter Eight: Visiting Brother

*for those who read the original chapter, this is a whole new one. I just realized the original one was... Well, not that good.

CHAPTER EIGHT: VISITING BROTHER

     I stared at my reflection in the mirror, I was wearing a blue jacket over a simple shirt and a pair of jeans along with a black converse. I sighed deeply once I caught sight of my puffy eyes from crying last night. I decided to cover it up with makeup in order not to alarm my sisters. Afterwards, I headed downstairs to meet up with them.

     Once I arrived, Saki and Erin looked like they lost something very special to them while Yuno looked like she was the happiest girl on Earth. I shook my head and swung my arms over Erin and Saki's shoulder, in attempts of catching their attention.

     "Shall we go?" I asked to which they answered with a nod.

      The four of us headed outside to the car that will be taking us to our destination. We climbed in the car, Saki was beside the driver's seat and the three of us in the passenger's seat. Henry, Father's childhood friend, started the engine and we were soon on our way.

      In the span of 30 minutes, no one dared to speak. Everyone was lost in their thoughts as they reminisced about the past. Even I am lost in my own thoughts.

     The car stopped right in front of the gates of the cemetery, and we were soon on our way to his grave.

      Yuno cling unto Erin's dress as we made our way, clearly afraid of the pictures of deceased people and the graves. We stopped in front of a certain grave which was all too familiar to us. I brushed the dusts and grass off, revealing the painful words engraved on it:

Here lies Akihiko Sachiyo

     I didn't dare to read any further, knowing that it will be too painful for me.

     We stayed silent for the rest of the minutes as we cleaned his grave, except for Yuno who watched us. After that, we all stood up and stared at the grave, probably mentally talking to him. Yuno joined in after a few minutes or so.

     'Hey, Big bro, how are you? It's been 4 years ever since you left us... We miss you so much. Everything's fine with us, although Dad's been very strict and cold towards us. But that's okay, I firmly believe that he will change someday and realize that what h's doing won't help with coping what he had gone through with Mom. How about you? How are you? Are you doing okay up there? I hope so. Remember, I love you, Big bro.' 

     A stray tear slipped down to my cheeks once I ended my mental message to him. I turned to see Erin, Saki, and Yuno gone, without a trace. I started to panic a little but remembered that while I was saying my message to Big brother, they told me that they were just going to buy some ice cream from the nearest ice cream vendor here.

     "Natsumi?" I turned to my right to see Hikaru standing, with Kaoru nowhere to be seen like usual. He looked a bit tired and exhausted too. "What are you doing here?" He asked as he took steps forward until he was beside me with hands in his pockets. "Oh, just visiting... Someone," I replied before tugging a strand of my hair behind my ear. He opened his mouth, but stopped when his eyes trailed to the grave of Big brother. His face fell and he looked at me with pity.

     Pity. 

     "Don't look at me like that," I growled at him, accidentally. His eyes widened at what I just said, as if he was taken aback. I sighed deeply once I realized what I did. "Sorry, I'm just stressed and all." I apologized and smiled at him sheepishly.

     "Apology accepted. Besides, I can imagine how it is to lose someone you love," His eyes trailed down once again to his grave, and for a moment, a glint of sadness flashed in his eyes as if he too lost someone very dear to him.

     "Did you visit someone too?" I asked out of the blue. He blinked a couple of times before answering, "Yep, a very close friend of ours. And Kaoru's lover, too." My eyes widened in surprise. Kaoru's lover? Wow, that's painful.

     "I'm sorry for your loss..." I said before the air was filled once more with awkward silence. I only stared down at my shoes as I played with the jacket's zipper in order to escape from this awkward situation. The silence lasted for minutes until Hikaru spoke.

     "So, is it okay if you tell me how he... passed away?" He said as he scratched the back of his head.

     I gulped and froze. Can I really open up to Hikaru? I mean, we've only known each other for months. We barely even speak to each other. 

     I straightened my back and looked him in the eye before saying, "I'm sorry, but I think I can't be open about something like this to you--" I trailed off as his face fell, but soon beamed at my next words. "--bu I can tell you this: He's a great and brave hero. He's the best Big brother in the whole world." 

     He smiled softly at me and stared deeply into my eyes. Time seemed to stop by after that and immediately, I felt a spark. I decided to shrug it off and told him, "Perhaps I can open up to you once you prove yourself trustworthy, although I highly doubt that will happen." He feigned his hurt as he placed a hand to his chest, and his face turned into a hurt one. "Ouch, that hurts!  I am a trustworthy friend!" I smiled at him and playfully pushed him away before saying, "Stop it. You look like an idiot."

     "Your soon-to-be idiot."

      The words he spoke weren't meant to be heard by me since it was whispered. But I heard it, crystal clear. He didn't seem to worry about me hearing it. So, I did my best to hide the fact that I heard it and shook my head.

     "Wanna get some ice cream?" I offered.

     "Sure, who would resist that kind of offer?" He answered with a smile.

     Author's note:

     Ooo, development of feelings alert! Hey there guys! I changed the chapter, yay! I wanted to make this book even better than the original one. So here it is! I hope you like it :) It's sort of a filler chapter, but yeah, it's better than a chapter full of nonsense.

And yeah, thanks for reading and voting my story guys! Thank you so much, it means alot to me!

Love ya guys lots!

-Hiromimi