Rin's Disaster

Toxins

"Took you long enough," it was Suzuki, leaning against the ledge of the rooftop with her arms crossed against her chest. The wind was blowing some of her brown hair into her face.

"It's not like I knew what I was getting myself into," I responded, walking towards her to join her at the ledge of the building, looking out over True Cross Academy.

"So you guys live here, huh?" She asked me, staring up at the sky.

"Yeah, we do. It's just me and Yukio though."

She paused for a moment. "Is he your uncle or dad or something?"

I stayed silent for a few beats, and took in a deep breath, sighing. "He's my brother, actually" She nodded. "My twin brother."

"Wait, Yukio's your twin brother? Like, the instructor of a cram class Yukio?"

I sighed again, running a hand through my hair. "Yeah, he's my twin brother. Has been my whole life."

"Wow, just wow," she seemed awestruck. I guess I can't blame her, though. Most people who haven't already heard from the local gossip trains tend to be surprised that such a highly esteemed student is my twin brother. Probably the reason we sat in silence for so long. I mean, it's a lot to take in out of nowhere.

Suzuki sighed, "That's got to be rough"

I furrowed my brow in response, "How do you mean?"

"Well, it's just like," she threw her hands up, exasperated, "everyone thinks he's perfect and you???"

"What about me?" I asked her, not sure I wanted to here her answer.

She answered me, but her voice was quiet, almost a whisper. "All you get is some shitty treatment from kids at school. What kind of world is that?"

I'll admit, her words cut- deep. But she was right. Sighing, I sat down, laying back on the ledge, facing the door through which I came. "It's my world. It's the only world I've ever gotten to know."

Huffing angrily, she sat down next to me. But Suzuki didn't just sit, she sat dramatically. The kind of exasperated sitting you do after losing an argument with your parents. "That doesn't mean I have to think it's fair. Or that you deserve it."

I huffed. "I don't know about that."

She crossed her arms on her chest. "And what exactly is THAT supposed to mean?"

I didn't say anything. The sun was falling down, and it was getting darker. Colder, too. Come to think of it, it would have been smarter to grab a jacket before heading out. A gust of wind blew around us, and we shivered in unison. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, trying to warm them up.

She grabbed her jacket and pulled it closer around her. "Damn, it just keeps getting colder and colder."

"Maybe we should head inside." I didn't want her to freeze, and the fall air wasn't forgiving. The wind was even more brutal, too.

"No, it's fine. I don't mind it out in the cold."

I was about to ask her what she meant, but she started ruffling with the inside of her jacket. I just watched, confused. Pulling out a lighter, she took a pack of cigarettes from a hidden pocket on the inside of her liner.

I watched, not in horror, not in judgement, but with fascination. Suzuki expertly held the flame to her cigarette despite the wind, and soon after puffed out a cloud of smoke.

"Want one?" she asked, offering her pack to me to pick the cigarette of my choosing.

"Huh?"

"Well, you're sitting there staring, I thought maybe you might want one."

I nodded in response, grabbing one from her pack. I didn't necessarily want to smoke it, but it's not like I cared much either.

"Here, I'll light it for you," she lit the cigarette on her first try, even while the wind howled around us.

"You smoke it like this," she gave the cigarette to me, switching to her own to demonstrate. She took a drag, waiting a brief second before releasing the smoke into the air. "Now you try it."

I did, inhaling deeply from the cigarette. Immediately I started coughing. Suzuki laughed.

"Its not *cough* funny! *cough cough*"

"You can't take a big drag, haha. Inhale a little bit, and let it cool down a bit before exhaling."

I finished my coughing fit, glaring a bit at her before I tried again. This time, I did exactly as she said.

And I liked it.