Pulchritudinous

2

Koushi would glance at his sister sitting on the bench with Kiyoko from time to time. His face would grimace, knowing she's avoiding eye contact with him on purpose. Daichi seems to notice how off his friend seems for the remainder of practice. The captain places a hand on the boy's shoulder, making the grey haired boy jump in surprise, showing just how distracted he is.
"Her showing up out of nowhere like that has me concerned as well. Just calm down for a few more minutes, she seems to be at ease now talking to Kiyoko." Daichi gives him a small smile before jogging over to the first years.
"Suga-san." Ennoshita gains his attention.
"Hmm?" He turns to him, tilting his head in confusion as the boy rubs his arm and avoids eye contact.
"W-well, I was w-wondering if y-your sister is okay? N-not that I have a c-crush on her or a-anything!" He starts panicking.
Koushi smiles lightly, placing a hand on his head to halt the boy from talking more.
"It's fine, I believe you." He pauses, lowering his hand, "I'm not too sure though. She's never really told me about her personal life even though we're siblings, but then again I never tell her anything either. If she's willing to tell me, that means something major happened." His lips form a frown.
"W-well, I hope we all become friends. If she's related to you, I'm sure she's just as great of a person as you."
Koushi smiles at his junior, nodding in agreement.
"Come on, I'll set for you. Call Narita and Kinoshita over as well." He nods his head towards them.
~
"See you guys tomorrow!"
"Get home safe!"
"Bye!"
"Goodbye, Suga-chan!" Both Nishinoya and Tanaka stare at Chura with stars in their eyes.
Chura laughs at the two second years, patting their heads softly before walking to her brother and his fellow third years. Koushi laughs at his sister, holding his hand above her head at forehead level.
"You're so tiny, Chu~" he chuckles.
"Koushi!" She pinches his arm.
"Ow! You pinch hard!" He rubs the area she injured as they begin their walk home.
"It's a pinch of love." She smiles cheekily.
"You haven't changed much, have you, Chu?" Daichi laughs as he slings an arm around her shoulders.
"You definitely grew older though. I remember you in your second year of junior high, you were so tiny and cute!" Asahi smiles, "But now you're so grown up." His bottom lip starts to quiver.
"Stop acting like you're her father!" Koushi slaps his back, jokingly, making him laugh nervously.
"So what high school were you at this past term?" Daichi asks.
"Oh yeah, where did you go?" Koushi asks.
"Eh? You don't even know?" Asahi stares at him in surprise.
"No... I don't." He mutters, making her look down at ground guiltily.
"When's the last time you two talked...?" Daichi asks softly.
Silence fills the air, making the boys gulp at the tension between the Sugawaras. Chura looks up at her brother, eyes filled with sadness. Koushi's face softens at this, making him bite the inside of his cheek.
"It's been a half year." She confesses.
"Chura..." Asahi frowns.
"I'm sorry, Koushi." She stops walking, bowing to him at a ninety degree angle.
"Ch-Chura-" Koushi gasps.
"I'm so sorry. I've been a horrible sister. You tried calling and messaging me but I refused to answer because of what was happening in my personal life." Her voice shakes as she speaks.
She slowly stands up normally, the boys widening their eyes when they see the tears rolling down her face.
"Aunt is dead." Her voice shows no emotion.
"Oh no." Daichi sucks in his breath.
"That's why..." Asahi whispers.
"Guys, go on without us. I'm gonna talk to Chura alone." Koushi looks at them with sad eyes.
They nod, waving to the siblings, smiling sadly at the girl before continuing on their way. Koushi stares at her for a few seconds before sighing.
"Let's go to our spot."
The two walk in silence to the park near their house. Koushi doesn't want to push her into talking about it just yet. He's not ready to see her cry. The last time he saw her this sad was when her pet fish died when she was seven. But he knows how close she was to their aunt, that's why she decided to live with her instead of with her own sibling and parents.
On the other hand, Chura isn't ready to talk about everything. Should she lie about everything else that had happened? No, she shouldn't. This is Koushi, if anything he'll help her. Maybe she won't tell him the second part yet, for both of their sakes.
Arriving at their destination, they immediately know to go to the swing set without saying anything to each other. They sit quietly, trying to figure out how to start the conversation but both struggle to find the right words to begin it.
"Koushi." Chura whispers, not trusting her normal voice.
"When?" That's all he says, but she knows what he's talking about.
"... Last month."
Koushi's head turns to look at her so fast that he might've broken his neck if he turned any faster. His jaw drops to say something but no sound escapes. It's already been a month and she's only telling him this now?
"She's... been sick since I entered high school. Every day was wake up early to take care of her, head to school, go to volleyball practice, then come home, take care of her till she went to sleep, do homework, and go to sleep. The next day was just a repeat of the day before, there was never anything different..." She looks at her brother with sad eyes, "It's not that I didn't want to talk to you, I was just so busy that I didn't have time to socialize, even with family."
She pauses for a second, trying to form the next words.
"I was on my way to the gym that you were playing at for the Inter High to surprise you, but the neighbors who usually go over to check on aunt called me and told me she wasn't breathing... I've never felt so much fear. On top of everything else going on, that was such a horrible feeling. I haven't left the house since. The neighbors had to call mom so I could come back and live with you guys. They were worried since l normally greeted them on the way to school in the morning..."
It becomes quiet once again. Koushi doesn't know what to say. He knows there's more to her sadness, considering the fact that she refuses to join the girl's volleyball team at Karasuno, but he doesn't want her to suffer any more tonight.
"Do you... do you want me to sleep next to you tonight...?" Koushi speaks up.
"Please." She answers immediately.
"Let's go home and get ready for school tomorrow." Koushi stands up, holding his hands out for her to grab.
Chura stares at his hands for a moment before accepting them. As soon as she's on her feet, he pulls her into a hug, squeezing her tightly. Chura's eyes widen in surprise.
"Whenever you want to talk, come to me. I promise to help out the best I can. Don't hide anything from me anymore. You've been doing it since you moved with aunt! Not only does it hurt you, it hurts me too."
"K-Koushi." She sniffles, indicating the tears that are about to fall.
"You can cry. I won't judge. I might... cry too..." his voice starts to shake.
His words are the ice breaker to all the emotions she's been keeping to herself. It feels good to let out all of the weight on her shoulders. Even though she trusted the friends she had at her original high school, she couldn't bring herself to tell them. Maybe it's because it was still fresh.
"I'm so sorry, Koushi." She bawls her eyes out, hiccups between every word.
"I know. I'm sorry too." He whispers, stroking her hair with delicacy.
They stay like this for a few minutes until she decides to pull away. Her face flushed in embarrassment, avoiding looking him in the eyes.
"T-thank you."
He grabs her face, wiping her tear stained cheeks. She sniffles, starting to calm down now. The older Sugawara kisses the younger's forehead gently, smiling wide when he looks back at her.
"I'm glad you're home now."