This weekend has been pretty good so far. You got to spend time with Hose, you went on your first "date" with Ritsuko, and Hiroko turned out to be a pretty chill woman. Not just that, but her meeting with Agano turned out to be better than you thought. Really, everything this weekend was just going right.
So, with your usual optimism, you figured this trend would continue when you went to help your bro. It would be the first time the two of you went out to do something together in a while, save for dealing with that Yunagi situation. The two of you even took some time to race around the dorm hall a bit, just for some fun.
You thought that'd set the tone for the rest of the day. You'd just find someone who didn't know what was going on, explain the situation to them, and then move on with your lives. Simple.
Which is probably why both Yamato and you were so disappointed when you were forced into a fight.
Yameko chose to stay with Hiroko and "take care of some personal business" as she put it, so the two of you went to meet up with Munagi. She had been using what connections she had, and a bit of her father's, to find anyone who knew Agano's connection to the raid. The downside is that there were more than a few. The upside was that you didn't have to worry about all of them. Either they knew the situation but figured that she'd serve her sentence as expected, or were planning something until they realized Munagi was against them and backed off.
This left only three people who could be threats. Semisu Maesa, Noki Kosake, and Hagata Fukunso. They knew that Agano was behind the attack, that she is likely going to get a fair or possibly reduced sentence as she is a minor, and were all planning to do something to change that.
Munagi had already tried talking to each of them individually. According to her they were all "extremely rude and stubborn," advising you both meet up with them one at a time. "It take people both sophisticated and vulgar to get through to those people," she had said, her voice filled with vitriol.
Ignoring her insulation that you were in anyway "vulgar", you thought her advise was all based off her personal experience. After all, while you did run into Yunagi and Hose has told you about the other assholes in the school, you doubt anyone's ornery enough to need both you and your bro to convince them to see things your way. Still thought, Yamato figured you should follow her advice and go see Semisu Maesa first. He figured that you might as well start from the top and work your way down.
You managed to find her hanging out with three other guys who were laughing at some joke or another as they walked along the mostly barren school ground without a care in the world. Munagi had described Semisu as a "girl who wishes to be a living doll" and you could see what she meant by that. The amount of makeup, highlights, and blush on her cheeks made her look like a one of those figurines you can find in Akihabara. When the two of you introduced yourselves, after she told her two hangers-on to step down, she called for you to follow her to a secluded area behind the school.
It was there you found your opinion of Sumisu began to rapidly deteriorate.
First she completely stonewalled you. Whenever you tried to get her attention, even raising your voice, she would ignore everything you said. You could handle that, though. It would just mean you'd be here to back up Yamato after he speaks.
Then she started openly flirting with Yamato. Actually, flirting was the wrong word. Seducing would be more appropriate. The moment he mentions speaking with her about Agano, she turns on the charm attempts. Batting her raised eyelids up at him, entering his personal space and pressing her chest against his body, running her hands up and down his arms while praising him. All the while suggesting that he leave "That immature and shrill Munagi, and get with a real woman like her." Your anger here was two-fold. First, she was doing this to your bro without his expressed permission, and second [Feelings + Motives: 33 + 35 = 68/20: Success!: 5XP!] that it was so obvious she was trying to wrap him around her finger. She didn't see him as an actual person. Just a possible tool that she could make use of with her feminine wiles.
[Yamato Empathy Check: I Planned For This Activates!]
[Yamato: Alexander: 33/20: Success!: 10XP!]
Thankfully, your bro sees through this, pointing out how he knew she would attempt something like this. How he was aware of his reputation around the school as a prodigy, and how he figured she would attempt to get him under her thumb through this method the moment they met face to face. And how, in no uncertain terms, he would do no such thing and was only here to speak about Agano.
Angered, both at being rejected and being found out you can tell, she backed up and snapped her fingers. Immediately, the three guys who followed her stepped forward while cracking their knuckles. You step forward to defend your bro. You take a moment to examine your opponents...
[Perception: People: 3/10: Fail!]
...And can't tell a thing about them. You're pretty sure you've seen them somewhere before. But nothing rings a bell.
Ah well, didn't really matter in the end.
[Street Fighting + MMA + Brawling: 26 + 16 + 11 (6 + Ritsuko Bonus) + 10 (Your Fist) = 53/30: Success!: 5XP!]
They stood no chance against you.
And that brings you to the current situation.
You with one hand wrapped around an unconscious guy's neck while the other two are on the ground unconscious.
Yamato kneeling in front of Semisu without a single hint of fear in his face.
And Semisu, having fallen flat on her ass, staring up at your brother with an expression of clear terror on her face. Tears stream down her cheeks, leaving streaks in her make up. Her body trembles as she babbles incoherently, eyes shifting between Yamato and you. You have to admit, while you have beaten up plenty of people, this is the first time you've seen someone be so scared of you that they start to tremble.
Hmm, come to think of it, you've actually gotten into a lot of fights since coming to Raijin. Wonder if you've gotten a reputation because of it?
[New Trait Gain Possible! Will be given a Choice at the end of the update!]
"It should be clear that attempting to threaten the two of us will not work," he says while taking some tissues from his pocket and wiping her tears away, "Please refrain from attempting such things in the future. Would it still be possible to convince you to leave Agano our legal system rather than attempt anything duplicitous?"
Semisu, clearly confused and frightened at the current events, slowly nodded in answer. To which your brother started laying out why attempting to get corrupt Agano's Trial would be wrong on many levels.
[Yamato: Diplomacy + Persuasion: 26 + 3 = 29/30: Fail!]
Unfortunately, even despite you letting your unconscious foe drop from your hand to punctuate one of Yamato's sentences, Semisu is adamant about her position. She says that a criminal like Agano deserves to have a harsher punishment for masterminding the whole raid, and wonders what the school would think if they knew we were trying to defend her.
You start walking forward, but Yamato raises a hand to stop you. Then he something that even you didn't see coming.
He gently places his fingers on Semisu's chin, looks her dead in the eyes, and with the smoothest voice you have ever heard, says words you never thought would come out of your brother's mouth, "Semisu-sama. Are you sure you wouldn't change your mind? Not even if I promised you...my first kiss~?"
[Yamato: Trickery: 40/30: Success! 15 XP!]
Immediately, Semisu drops all pretense. Her face goes red, her eyes go wide, and her head nods furiously as she repeats the word yes over and over again. Then your brother places a finger on her lips, leans forward, waits for her close her eyes...then pecks her on the cheek.
"Thank you, Semisu," your bro gets to his feet, crumbles up the tissues he used to clean Semisu's face, then turns to you, "Shall we go, brother?"
"Uh, sure," you're way too baffled by what just happened to argue. Only when the two of you are far away from the scene do you even think of asking Yamato, "So, bro, mind telling me what the heck that was?"
"It is something that Yameko instructed me how to do. A 'trick' she called it. Going off Semisu's initial response to seeing me, I deduced that she on some level desired me in a lustful fashion. Thus, when my rational argument failed to persuade her, I employed the use of this 'trick' to get her to agree," he explains with his same monotone.
"So...you seduced her?" you start to chuckle while elbowing your brother, "Didn't think you had it in ya, bro."
"Incorrect. Seduction implies I used sexual appeal in some way. This was merely taking advantage of another person's lust."
"Just like she tried to do to you."
"No, it is different."
"Whatever you say," you say with a grin that shows you're not convinced in the slightest. Your brother doesn't press the matter though.
You walk in silence for a bit before you hear a rare sigh escape Yamato's lips, "Though I do see that little has changed since we entered high school."
"What do you mean?" you'd say quite a lot has changed. You certainly didn't have a kind of-maybe-not girlfriend before high school.
"I am referring to what happened when Semisu told those male students to assault and/or threaten us. And, once again, I had to rely on you to defend me when I was in danger of sustaining physical harm. Just like when we were younger."
As he speaks you're taken back to an older time. Before you knew about the supernatural, met Yato, or even had an apartment all to yourself. When the two of you had to stay wherever you could manage because your parents had disappeared. A time when the two of you weren't really certain what was going to happen to you in the future.
A time before Yamato became so emotionally distant.
"Stay! Away! From! My! Brother!" each word is punctuated by your fist slamming into the bully's face as you straddle him. Another comes up behind you and grab you from under your arms. You stomp his foot then slam your head into his face as he hunches over in pain. He lets you go and you elbow him in the stomach to send him to his knees. A final kick to the head sends him to the sand with the two other bullies you had beaten to pulps before him.
You turn to see the three remaining pests backing up in fear at your fierce assault. You ignore the pain shooting through your arms and legs, the throbbing in your skull, and the warm red liquid dripping down your face as you direct all your anger at your cowering foes. "You want some, too!?" you question with a raised fist, "Then come get some! I've got plenty for all of you!"
You always wanted to say that at some point.
However, rather than give you more faces to punch, the three decide to cut their loses. They rush passed you and collect their fallen allies before running away from the barren, gray lot.
For a moment, there's nothing save for the sound of their footsteps running away and your heart hammering away in your chest.
Then it's all replaced by the sound of crying.
Your brother's crying.
Brotherly instinct takes over as you look behind you and rush to your brother's side. He's got his fist in his eyes, wailing away in while water falls from his eyes like a leaky faucet. His arms and legs are covered in bruises while his school books lay scattered on the ground.
You place your arms around him and pull him into a hug, ignoring the water and snot staining your bloody shirt, "Hey, hey, it's ok, Yam. It's ok. They're gone and I'm right here. I'm right here. It's ok."
"Hay..Hayato," he sniffles and sobs out the words, "Wh..why...why do they...hate me? What did I do wrong?"
You squeeze him tighter, "Nothing. You did nothing wrong. Those guys are just jerks! You should forget about them!"
"But...but what if they-"
"Hey! What did I say before?" you pull him out of the hug and gently push his hands away from his eyes. A pair red, wet black and white orbs meet your eyes as he sniffles while trying to wipe away his snot, You put on your best smile and say, "If they ever come back, just call me. I'll beat them up all, no matter how many of them there are."
"But, what if you're not there one day?" he looks down at her ground, fear and despair evident in his cracking voice, "Like Mom and Dad-"
"That's not gonna happen!" you shout and pull him back into a hug, "I'll always be there! No matter how bad things are, no matter how alone you feel, just call my name and I'll come running! And that's a promise! Ok, Yam?!"
Your brother is silent for what feels like a minute. Then, in a quiet almost imperceptible voice, he squeaks out, "Alright, Hayato. Thank you."
"No problem, bro."
The two of you stayed in that lot for a while. You're pretty sure the sun started setting before you finally separated and started picking up Yamato's books. Then you went back to the orphanage, had some crappy food, and went to your beds. You made sure to hold Yamato's hand to stop him from shaking in his sleep.
"Oh, that's what you mean," you scratch the back of your neck nervously, "Then, yeah. I guess some things have remained the same. But they've also changed quite a bit."
"How so?"
"Well, we've both got actual friends now. We're both apart of Clubs that will be involved in official tournaments soon. We're both the reason this school didn't get anymore damaged than it already was when it was raided. We're responsible for convincing the leader of said raid to give herself up to the police. And we've both bonded with supernatural creatures that were thought to exist only in fairy tales, but I was 100% sure existed."
Yamato is silent for long enough that you feel it right to continue your tangent, "And to top it off, you've become a lot stronger Yamato."
"...I fail to see what you mean, Hayato," he says while slowing his steps, "Could you elaborate?"
"Oh, come on! You must've noticed it!" you move to stand in front of your brother as you walk and talk, "You used to be way easier to scare and threaten. Heck, I remember a time when you'd cry whenever you'd stub your toe or trip and hit the ground. And you'd start backing down the moment someone got aggressive with you. But now?"
You snap your fingers, "Complete difference. You stood your ground not just in front of those three assholes back there, but against a kitsune, kumiho, Kirin High Students wielding wooden swords, and a pink haired girl with a knife. Not to mention how you absolutely owned that Yunagi guy the moment you met him. Seriously, Yam, you've gotten a...lot...braver....,"
[Empathy Check: Feelings + Motive + Interest: 33 + 35 + 3 = 71/70: Success!: +20 XP!]
You almost miss it.
It flashes across your brother's face for but a single moment. He tries to hide it the second he realizes you're looking at him. If you were anyone else, if you were watching anyone else, you probably would've written it off. Dismissed it as a trick of the eye from, or the waning sunlight messing with your vision.
But you're not anyone else.
You're Hayato Nagai.
And this is your brother, Yamato Nagai.
And for that single moment, you spot something that you never thought you'd see on his face.
Because you have worked so hard to ensure it would never ever appear.
Hurt. Not just any kind of hurt. A deep pain that has been kept within him for years. The type that festers and can remain hidden behind a veneer of normality with none being the wiser. The kind you only get from feeling betrayed by something, or someone, you once held very dear to you.
The sight makes your heart sink into your stomach.
"I suppose you're right, brother," he says while walking past you, his original nonchalant nature reasserting itself, "Let us retire for the day. The week begins tomorrow. And we have much to do."
"Ye...yeah, Yamato. Let's head back," you're only half listening to your brother right now. You're too busy trying to make sense of what you saw. Because, while knowing that your brother is harboring some deep seeded pain within him is enough to worry you to death already, there's another aspect that makes the situation worse.
The pain he felt wasn't directed at you. You did nothing to instill that in him.
But if so...then who did?
Who hurt your brother so deeply?
And what can you do to help him?
Due to your many fights throughout the Quest, you're eligible for a new Trait! This Trait is a Special one gained through your choices, actions, and Hayato's general character throughout the Quest. These type of Traits will not only offer Mechanical Benefits, but will also affect Hayato's Character and hif he takes certain action in the story. For good and for ill. As such, you are able to choose whether you gain this Trait or not.
The Smiling Ogre: Your many bouts with others has caused your reputation as a violent man to spread across the school. Those who respect you see you as a benevolent man who fights for good and righteousness. Others see you as a fierce beast that will snap and destroy anyone in your path at any moment. You see the truth as somewhere in between. +20 to Intimidation Stat, but if Hayato enters Negotiations with someone he doesn't like, he'll be very aggressive with them. Possibly leading to a confrontation or him hitting someone. Or something.
Will you take this Trait?
[] Yes
[] No
[Yamato Relationship Increased to 6!]
[Hayato +30 XP!]
[Yamato +25 XP!]
