After a few seconds passed, his thoughts were interrupted by Masaru, who looked tired and resigned.

 

"Mitsuru ran away."

 

"Hmm... Well, he's the fastest runner of us so it's normal that you didn't catch up with him" Daitaro commented as he thought funny what the other was saying.

 

"And more so when he doesn't want to do something" Masaru added as he then sighed. "Isn't it weird that he's the one who runs the fastest when he doesn't leave the apartment much?"

 

"Yeah, a little..., but that's the way it goes when one is talented at something."

 

"Well, what a waste."

 

"In any case, I don't mind doing the dishes so it's fine if they want to run away."

 

"Oh? Rage, don't be so permissive, they didn't do anything so they have to wash."

 

"But it's true I don't mind"

 

"I understand you're doing it for Daiki, but, not because you're his twin means it's okay to let it slide."

 

"Hm?" Daitaro arched an eyebrow at the comment. "What does him being my twin have to do with it?... You think I have favoritism for him too?"

 

"Uh..." Masaru looked away. "That's not..." at the redhead's look of disbelief, Masaru proceeded to laugh. “Rage, don't change the subject!" 

 

"I'm not, it's just that you said that when it has nothing to do... Sure I love Daiki very much, but it has nothing to do with me not minding washing their dishes."

 

"Sure..."

 

Daitaro sighed not understanding his younger brothers insistence. He folded his arms and looked at the black haired for an answer.

 

"It makes me laugh when you guys tease Daiki with that, but, since I don't feel it's a secret how much love I have for the three of you... I don't see the need for you guys to tell me that unless you’re reproaching me for something. Did I do something wrong?” Daitaro asked as he cocked his head to the side very confused.

 

"Yes... You certainly are very corny, we all know that."

 

"So?" Daitaro went from looking confused to giving him a somewhat mocking smile. "Are you jealous of Daiki?"

 

"Jealous..." muttered Masaru as he considered this. "Not really, but I don't understand why you're so submissive many times."

 

"Submissive? Eh... Wow, I didn't think you thought that way about me."

 

"So I just thought it was reasonable for you to be like that because you're his twin, but as you say, it has nothing to do..., though I won't lie, I still think you do it because you're his twin"

 

“Gee..., well, at least I'm thankful that it's not jealousy" said Daitaro "You know how much I love you."

 

"Yeah, yeah, ah... do you know how weird it is for you to say that when Daiki is just the exact opposite of you in that regard?"

 

"Hmm..." the redhead thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "I understand now."

 

"Understand what?"

 

"You want Daiki to tell you the same thing."

 

"What?..." Masaru was silent before bursting out laughing. "Are you kidding? If Daiki expressed himself the same way as you, I'd think he was kidnapped by aliens and got exchanged with someone else!"

 

"Hm? Would it be so weird to hear him...? It's not like he hasn't said it before…, right?"

 

"It's your twin filter. You know how to interpret Daiki more accurately than us, we're not the same."

 

"Haha, Masaru..., don't worry, you'll see Daiki at some point will say it" at the comment, Masaru thought about it for a moment before shaking his head strongly.

 

"No! ...I think I'd get chills if it happened..."

 

"Wow, I'm sure if Daiki heard you he'd be really offended,” said Daitaro. "So it gives you the creeps to hear me?"

 

"A little..., but only because when I see you, it's as if I saw Daiki and well..."

 

Daitaro folded his arms. He didn't look very happy.

 

"Oh..."

 

"Wait, I didn't mean that... It's not like I don't know the difference between you saying it as opposed to Daiki saying it..." Masaru blushed as he tried to explain himself, of course, the more he talked the more he was making it worse.

 

"So you feel ashamed when I tell you that I love you..."

 

"..." Masaru looked away. "Just a little, it's just weird..., but it's not like I hate it or anything either."

 

"...I love you."

 

"Huh?" Masaru looked confused at his brother. Daitaro was looking at him without much expression.

 

"I love you, I love you, I love you..."

 

Daitaro was walking without paying attention to his brother walking backwards, that is, until the black-haired bumped into the side of a sofa. Apparently, they had walked all the way to the living room during this exchange.

 

"And I love you more every day!" Daitaro exclaimed energetically as the other ended up sitting on the armrest of the couch.

 

"…"

 

Seeing the green-eyed one’s lost expression, Daitaro couldn't help but laugh in great amusement.

 

"Haha, I understand that it embarrasses you but I guess it's my duty to do so" Daitaro said "If Daiki can't, I'll tell you as many times as I can.”

 

"...And was it necessary to make me walk all the way here?”

 

"Just because your reaction was so funny, I couldn't help it, sorry" Daitaro scratched the back of his head.

 

"It's just that you caught me off guard..., but yes, Daitaro, you can be quite the weirdo.”

 

"Maybe. Hm... Though, hey, you're lucky you said all that to me and not Daiki. I don't take it personally, but..., like we talked about earlier, Daiki wouldn't take anything you said well.”

 

"Yeah..., I know.”

 

They both fell silent. Masaru contemplated his brother's warm smile for a moment.

 

"You really didn't mind what I said, Rage?…"

 

"Hm? No. I know you're right in that it's weird for me to express myself like this, though I don't understand why you three feel embarrassed..., but I'm trying to understand, hehe"

 

"I guess you need to experience it to understand..., since you say 'I love you' over and over again, I guess it's normal for you to not feel embarrassed by now."

 

"Are you implying that I don't mean it?" Daitaro arched an eyebrow doubtfully. “It may not seem like it, but I really..."

 

"Yes, yes! I know, you don't have to repeat it, you already said it like 50 times just now" Masaru sighed. "Anyway, you managed to deflect the topic, but, one way or another they'll wash the dishes."

 

"...Wow, you sure are determined to get them to do the dishes, huh." 

 

"It's only fair. I don't mind cooking, but things are what they are. I'm sure they'll come when they get hungry."

 

"Haha, it's like you've already cooked for them a bunch of times" Daitaro stepped back to then turn and walk back to the kitchen.

 

"Where are you going?"

 

"I'm not going to wash up, don't worry. I'll just put away the pancake flour and some other stuff I see" the redhead commented without looking back. Masaru eyed his brother curiously, this, before sitting down properly on the couch and looking up at the ceiling with some tiredness.

 

"I pissed off Rage..., didn't I.... Daiki can't openly say what Rage can and Rage won't admit when something pisses him off. Or is it that he didn’t even know that pissed him off?... Why do they have to be so weird?"

Masaru sighed as he turned to look at the TV. His brothers may have escaped and he might have said he wasn't going to cook anything until they did the dishes, but... maybe he could look for recipes using the cooking channel, right?

The black haired took a seat and subsequently flipped on the TV, though, instead of changing the channel, he stared in awe at the screen. Before him, was the image of majestic angels playing the trumpets while soaring in the sky; however, as he heard the voice of an old man talking from it, he managed to snap out of it.

"Oh, it's the ceiling of a church..." Masaru mused as he reflected on the voice he was hearing. "Angels and demons are so cool but I guess only in anime" he added as he then sat on the couch. It's not that he wanted to watch mass, however, he was caught reminiscing while emptily staring at the TV for a few minutes.

“Hm? You’re watching mass? I thought you didn’t like it” said Daitaro as he came back from the kitchen and sat beside him.

“I’m just wondering… how is it possible that demons and angels can be made boring just by some guy talking lifelessly?”

“Huh? Well, it’s not like the priest is talking about them in the first place, right?”

“I know but, there’s a different feeling between watching angels in anime or movies than seeing their paintings in churches…”

“Hmm…?”

“Does believing in them make me uncool?”

“How did you reach that conclusion…?”

“I remember our parents used to take us to mass, I have vague memories of it… But everything was boring and I just wanted it to be over. However, I always liked the angel statues and paintings”

“Oh, I remember that” replied Daitaro happily. “You used to tell mom that she would look really pretty with angel wings. She looked really happy about that”

“I don’t remember that, but I do stand by what I said” Masaru smiled as he looked at the ceiling. “Do you think our parents are angels now? Is there some requirement to turn into an angel after death?”

“Uh… Who knows… I don’t remember much from what the priest used to talk about so…”

“Not the priest! I may not remember but I’m sure he has no clue about that”

“You seem pretty sure about something you don’t remember…”

“How could he? He is just human, there’s no way he knows about it. It may be a secret between angels after all”

“Do you have any idea of what the requirement could be?”

“Not really, but I doubt being a ‘good person’ is enough to be an angel…”

“So you don’t think our parents are angels now?”

“I mean, I love our parents but they weren’t perfect… Dad did lie from time to time and mom had her flaws too, so… If the requirement was to be ‘good’, maybe no person is fit to be one and I really like the idea of our parents being angels that are looking after us”

“…But what does that have to do with anime and movies…? That just sounds like normal angels to me”

“Ehm, it would be cool if they had superpowers or something but… Our parents have gone through a lot so I’m cool with them just chilling in heaven with their cool angel wings” at the explanation, Daitaro chuckled while finding it adorable. His brother sure could come up with really innocent ideas from time to time.

Masaru blushed at realizing that he had probably sounded really dumb saying that.

“Our parents death anniversary is coming soon… Will you come to mass?”

“Of course I will, it doesn’t matter if its boring, they liked going so…” Masaru said as he thought about this. “Though Daiki is not going to like having uncle Julius come get us”

“Well, he never likes him coming for any kind of reason”

“True, true…”

“Be sure to tell mom how pretty she sure is being an angel” Daitaro suggested with a cute smile. Masaru blushed once more, clearing his throat in response.

“I will, but let’s just forget about that for now! I wonder if there’s anything interesting on the cooking channel” the green eyed said as he changed the channel hastily.

Daitaro found his embarrassment both funny and endearing, it was odd for him to feel embarrassed when talking to him (since his embarrassment and tough act was mostly around Daiki) but it was surely amusing when it happened.

Twenty-Five minutes later, Daitaro noticed Masaru nodding off, thus, he stood up from his place to look for a blanket.

Moments after Masaru had closed his eyes, however, the TV, which had been left on the cooking channel…, flipped back to the angel imagery shown on the church’s ceiling.

 

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxxx [Story written by Enthriex]

 

Daiki quickly left the apartment and headed to the park, where he had found Mitsuru running with all his might as if he thought he was being chased, of course, he hadn't noticed that Masaru had given up and turned back, so he was still panicking trying to run away.

 

The red-haired boy looked in disbelief at the ridiculous scene of his brother running for his life, so he didn't hesitate to take out his cell phone and record a few seconds of what he could perhaps use to negotiate with him in the future. Was it extortion? Maybe. But he wouldn't use it unless it was worth it.

 

"Hey, ding-dong" Daiki finally approached his brother, who had finally stopped to hide behind a tree.

 

Mitsuru was silent as he saw someone peek out of the corner of his eye. He had frozen as he analyzed the person in front of him, as soon as he could process who it was, he finally relaxed.

 

"Daiki, what are you doing here?"

 

"For a survival game expert, it seems to me that you would have died pathetically just now."

 

“What?! It's not like that!" the blond exclaimed before putting his hands at his sides and frowned in obvious annoyance. "It's just that Masaru was coming after me, don't compare him to a hungry monster!"

 

"If you were like that with Masaru chasing you, I highly doubt you'd make it out alive if an actual hungry monster was the one chasing you... In fact, be thankful it wasn't a hungry monster"

 

"If it was a hungry monster I know I could keep my cool and take it more seriously, don't underestimate my skills!"

 

"..." Daiki couldn't help but call him an 'idiot' in his mind; however, he decided to spare the comment for the time being. "...You do realize that you're treating Masaru as something more dangerous than a hungry monster?"

 

"...Your point?" Mitsuru narrowed his eyes. Daiki returned his expression before covering his forehead with ennui.

 

"Sometimes I don't know if you're smart, a moron, or if you just pretend to be one of the two." 

 

"I know you don't understand, but it's different than if someone is chasing you. It gets on my nerves to be chased."

 

"...Sure."

 

"I don't need your approval! I know that if it was a life or death situation then I would be able to show what I'm capable of."

 

"Mitsuru, don't try to fix it, you sound less credible the more you insist."

 

"I'll shut up, not because you tell me to, but because there's no point in reasoning with someone who can't see beyond the obvious" Mitsuru looked away in indignation. He understood that it might have been foolish of him to run off like that, but…,he really didn't want to do the dishes!

 

"In any case, real life isn't the same as a game. Just because you know what to do in a game doesn't mean you would know what to do if the same thing happened in reality. If you ran away like that because your brother chased you, I don't think you'd last three seconds alive as soon as you saw a monster."

 

"Well for your information, I know myself and I know what I'm capable of. I know I would pay more attention if my life and my brother's were in danger, I'm not as dumb as I look."

 

"..." Daiki inevitably gave him a slap at the comment. 

 

"Hey!"

 

"Anyway, let's forget about that, what do we do?"

 

"Ah? ...Don't tell me, you also ran because you didn't want to do the dishes?"

 

"Well..."

 

"Oh..." Mitsuru muttered before letting out a laugh after thinking about this. 

 

"What are you laughing at?"

 

"You sure looked more ridiculous than me running away from Daitaro. Don't you feel sorry for having put the responsibility on your twin?"

 

"..." Daiki blushed heavily at the comment. "You ran away too so don't give me that!"

 

"Maybe, but it's still funnier that you supposedly feel bad about being selfish and you still decided to run away."

 

The redhead ignored the comment to then realize that Mitsuru was carrying Hachi in his arms. The puppy looked disheveled, but didn't seem to have minded the blond's inconsiderate treatment.

 

"Woof!" the puppy barked happily at the attention he was getting. Daiki sighed before holding him and pulling him into his arms.

 

"Mitsuru, did you have to bring Hachi with you? The poor thing is all agitated."

 

"Hm? He looks fine to me, he likes to run around with us."

 

"Yeah, when he's running too, not when he's being held" Daiki watched the puppy for any sign of discomfort, but despite what anyone would think, it seemed fine.

 

"Well..., I guess he could have been stressed, he looks fine though, doesn't he?" asked Mitsuru.

 

"..." At the redhead's annoyed expression, Mitsuru walked over to Hachi and smiled somewhat guiltily.

 

"Sorry for bringing you along, I forgot to drop you off at home before I ran off" Mitsuru pressed his palms together and offered him a heartfelt apology. Hachi just barked happily in response.

 

"You saved yourself from making Daitaro mad," Daiki said. "You know how angry he gets if someone does something to Hachi."

 

"Hmm..." Mitsuru thought about this for a few moments. "I don't think I've seen him like that, I doubt you've even seen him get angry. In fact, with how much he spoils you, you should be the one who knows that side of him the least."

 

"...Mitsuru, are you really jealous of me? Don't you think that's very childish of you?"

 

"Again with that?.... No, Daiki, no one is jealous. I'm just stating the facts" said Mitsuru "Which reminds me... Will you be okay with Daitaro back at the apartment?"

 

Daiki frowned with much irritation.

 

"Stop implying that I can't even be five seconds apart from him! It's not like I stick to Daitaro all the time!"

 

"Right, you're only missing being physically glued together, although well, you two hold hands most of the time... That should count for something."

 

Unable to answer anything, as they had heard a booming sound near them, the children turned in its direction.

 

“What...?" Daiki muttered. The previous topic forgotten, Mitsuru took a few steps towards the source and held his chin in thoughtful on what had transpired.

 

"Could it be a hungry monster...?" Mitsuru smiled confidently and nodded. "I'll show you my skills."

 

"...Mitsuru, don't be an idiot, please."

 

Paying no attention to him, Mitsuru ventured towards the source of the sound, wary of his brother coming after him. Daiki could only find his behavior ridiculous.

 

"I know you want to prove me wrong about you but since there's no hungry monster, you're just proving that you're a moron." 

 

"Shh..., Daiki, if you want to stay alive you'd better keep quiet" Mitsuru said as he hid behind a tree and peeked around to decide whether to approach or not.

 

"I'd better have stayed to wash the dishes." 

 

"Shhh."

 

"Masaru would have played along, but I don't feel like dealing with you, so..."

 

"There's someone there."

 

“Huh?..." Daiki peeked out without much care, so Mitsuru pulled him behind himself. 

 

"Do you want to get yourself killed? You can't just peek out without thinking!" he exclaimed in a whispering voice.

 

"It's just a boy who clearly fell from the tree, do you think it's okay for you to keep playing?"

 

"Uh... Yeah, I guess not," said Mitsuru as he stepped away from the tree to walk over to the boy who was lying in a fetal position. He had black hair with a slight blue-green gradient, light peach skin, he was wearing a black t-shirt with white sleeves, dark blue-green plaid shorts and black shoes with accents the same color as his shorts. He seemed to be holding something.

 

Daiki squatted down in front of him and seconds after the boy's hand moved, he observed a small bird chirping continuously.