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𝟐𝟓 || 𝐊𝐄𝐈𝐒𝐔𝐊𝐄'𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐌𝐀 ||

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Keisuke doesn't know how or why it happened, but—for some reason—Haruchiyo Akashi is living with the Hanagakis.

    Nothing could have prepared him for that fateful morning when he made his new discovery; he had broken into the Hanagakis house after school, ready to bring Takemichi to the corner store to snatch some snacks when he laid his eyes upon the sleeping forms of both Haru and Michi.

    They were—were cuddling with each other in Michi's bed (Haru isn't even a fan of physical affection!!!). The sight before him was so surreal and out of place that Keisuke thought he was dreaming. He had pinched his arm, felt the pain in his skin, concluded that this wasn't some nightmare, and proceeded to scream at the top of his lungs in shock.

    Now, he knows he should've reacted...more maturely upon seeing his two friends together, but something mad and ugly reeled up inside of him, begging to be set free.

    So he screamed.

    And woke Haru and Takemichi up.

    And got whacked in the face with multiple pillows for 'disrupting their nap' which is absolute bullshit because Takemichi NEVER TAKES NAPS AFTER SCHOOL!!!

    He was always with Keisuke—or Mikey—and that was that! The boy would never be with someone else without Keisuke there; it's like some unspoken rule the two of them shared and, so far, none of them have broken it.

    Until now.

    The moment Ms.Hanagaki got home, Keisuke ran up to the crazy woman and demanded answers.

    And what did she do?

    She laughed!

    At KEISUKE!!!

    "Haruchiyo is gonna be staying with us for a while, just until Takeomi gets his shit together."

    The rage he felt towards Haru quickly shifted over to the older Akashi, the main source of his suffering.

    The main reason Haru had to stay with his best friend.

    One thing was for sure—Keisuke needs to do something about this new development, and he needs to do it as soon as possible so they can all go back to their normal way of life.

    But, for the first time in his life, he didn't have a plan.

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The final bell had rang a few minutes ago, signaling the end of the school day, and Keisuke was waiting for Mikey and Takemichi outside of the entrance. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches sight of a curly black mop of hair in the distance. The crowd disperses, revealing his (adorable) best friend.

    "Hey Kei-Chan!" Takemichi greets with his sunny smile and twinkling blue eyes. He's always been so bright, adoringly so.

    Keisuke raises his hand in greeting, a smirk lacing his lips as he watches Takemichi approach him.

    "Hey Michi—" and the smirk is quickly wiped off his face at the boy trailing behind Takemichi, his platinum blonde hair standing out against Michi's black curls. He drops his hand and narrows his eyes at Haru.

    What's he doing here? With Takemichi?

    Yeah, yeah, Keisuke is aware that Haru goes to the same school as them (he's actually in his class) but he rarely ever sees Haru walking with anyone younger than him. Apparently it had to do something with his...reputation? Whatever the hell that word meant...but he was hardly seen with kids smaller or younger than him, which normally includes Takemichi or Senju, his own sister.

    But here he is, following after Takemichi like a lost puppy.

    That ugly feeling from before rises up again, threatening to take over his mind and body and...

    He hates it.

    "...Hey Haru, what are you doing here?" He asks, not bothering to hide the suspicion in his voice. The blonde barely reacts to his change of tone; he just tilts his head and smirks—

    Wait what?

    Did he just—just smirk? At Keisuke? Like a suspicious bastard?!

    "I go here, Keisuke. Did you hit your head or something?" He questions teasingly, his body inching closer and closer to Takemichi.

    Keisuke resists the urge to yank him away and smack some sense into him, but he holds himself back. He should knock some sense into his friend, but—

    But what would Michi think?

    Keisuke rolls his eyes at Haru. "I mean what are you doing here with Michi!" He rephrases. "You guys never walk together after school! So why are you—"

    "We're walking home together!" Takemichi answers sweetly with a closed eye smile, completely oblivious to the conflict in front of his eyes.

    Home. He didn't say Haru's house or My apartment.

    He said home.

    Like it's something the two of them...shared.

    That feeling in his gut growls louder and louder, practically begging to be set free and tarnish the blonde boy for taking Takemichi away, for ruining their routine. He's tempted to give into his thoughts—to do what his conscience is telling him to do. He can just pounce on Haru and grab his neck with his hand, squeeze until the skin is dark purple and green. He would snarl at him like a wild wolf and threaten him to stay the fuck away from Michi, to never lay his filthy hands on him.

    Instead of giving into his temptations, he walks forward with careful steps, directly towards Takemichi. Keisuke grabs his hand, tugs him close and smirks.

    "Cool! Guess I'll join y'all!" Keisuke declares, watching with satisfaction as Haru bristles up in the corner of his eye. Good. Let him be mad. Be jealous of him and Michi.

    Takemichi doesn't notice anything. His face lights up like it always does when he gets the chance to hangout with more people. The face he makes when he gets the chance to hangout with Keisuke.

    "Aren't you waiting for Mikey?" Haru asks from behind Takemichi, his voice low and annoyed and it sends sparks of joy up Keisuke's spine.

    Keisuke shakes his head no. "Nah, he's walking with Emma and Shin today," he explains, catching the slight squint of Haru's green eyes at his explanation. He isn't lying—Mikey had wanted to walk home with his siblings—but he might've left out the part where Mikey had invited Keisuke and his friends to come along with him.

    But oh well.

    He'll understand.

    Hopefully, a voice whispers in his ear. He might tear you to shreds like he did Haru—

    Keisuke tightens his grip on Takemichi's hand and pulls him along, earning a shout from both the black haired boy and Haru.

    "Well Cmon guys! Last one to the apartments has to give Mikey a piggyback ride!!!"

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Ever since that encounter in front of the school, Keisuke would always see Haru with Takemichi.

    In the mornings, at school in the playgrounds (he'd always find a way to sneak onto their playground without Keisuke and Mikey), in the afternoons after school gets out, at his apartment everytime Keisuke visits and just—

    Keisuke can't stand it.

    That blonde bitch is stealing Takemichi away from him! Keisuke and Mikey are the ones who cuddle him, drag him around like a doll, take him on amazing adventures, not Haru! He just—just stays at home with his bullshit older brother or goes off to who knows where and gets his ass kicked!

    He's sick and tired of seeing Takemichi with Haru. The boy just lets the blonde follow him around like a lost child. He doesn't swat Haru's hands away when he grabs onto the bottom hem of his shirt. Takemichi allows the boy to hover over him like some—some shitty prison guard! Takemichi doesn't need another person to protect him!

     He already has Mikey and Keisuke—he doesn't need anyone else but them!

    But does Keisuke say this out loud? No.

    'Why?' You may ask. 'Why not speak up about Haru's clinginess?'

    Because he cares for Haru and Takemichi.

    It's not like they were doing anything bad. They were just hanging out—more than they normally would—and doing what friends usually do.

    Just—just being there for eachother.

    Keisuke's aware that Haru's been going through some shit thanks to Takeomi (that stanky bastard), but neither of them have gone into detail as to what the Akashi was going through.

    So not only were they excluding him, but they were also leaving him in the dark as well.

    To say that he's mad would be an understatement.

   How dare they just leave Keisuke in the dust like he's nothing? Like he's just a grain of sand on the ground not worth looking at? A rock that looked like every other pebble?

    It wasn't fair—NONE OF THIS IS FAIR!!!

    Keisuke is left with nothing else to do but to brood in his own hatred, wondering—pondering about those two damn boys who he thought were his friends...

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"Stop acting jealous and just talk to them, Keisuke."

    Keisuke immediately growls in frustration, his stomach tying itself in tight knots at the mere suggestion of being Jealous.

    "I'm not jealous, mom!" He denies whilst slumping his head on top of the coffee table where his homework lays unfinished. He's already developing a headache from staring at the damn paper and now it's getting worse at the very thought of those stupid kids!

    His mother heaves out a sigh loud enough for Keisuke to catch. "So you're just mad at them for no reason?"

    Keisuke whips his head around to face his mom, instantly regretting it at the sharp pain That courses through his head. Wincing in agony, Keisuke brings a hand to his forehead and glares at his mother through narrow eyes. "I have a really good reason to be mad at them!"

    The lady tilts her head and pops her hip, like some sassy model. "Oh really?" She asks, her voice full of suspicion. Keisuke doesn't like it one bit.

    "Yeah, really!"

    "Then what's the reason?"

    Oh, where does Keisuke even start?!

    And, like a water fountain, everything starts flowing out of him in huge waves.

    His mom eventually takes her place next to her son, patting him on the back as he continues to rant about the two boys.

    He talked and talked till his throat was sore and his eyes glistened with frustrated tears; by the time he finished talking about all the reasons as to why he was upset with Haru and Takemichi, he finds himself cuddled up next to his mother on the couch. He rarely ever seeks out her warmth—if he wanted to be comforted, he would go to Takemichi who's apparently too busy to hangout with him. After he realizes how close he and his mother had gotten, he doesn't bother pulling away. Rather than inching away from his mom, he cuddled closer, feeling more than distraught and exhausted.

    The moment Keisuke finishes his rant—which seemed to have gone on for hours—the apartment was engulfed in an overwhelming silence.

    It's his mother who decides to speak up, thankfully breaking the tense atmosphere with her soft words.

    "...It seems to me like you're jealous, Keisuke."

    Ok, nevermind. She just made the atmosphere ten times worse.

    Keisuke looks up to properly look at his mother and eyes the smirk on her lips with annoyance. "I just said I wasn't jealous! I just—I just want things to go back to the way they were!" He exclaims loudly.

   His mother tilts her head and gives him 'the look'—the kind she makes when she's trying to consider her next words.

    "And how were things? Before Haru moved in with the Hanagakis?" She asks in that tone of hers when she's trying to make a point. Keisuke scrunches his nose in frustration and draws back from his mother, creating some distance between them.

    He tries not to notice the tension in her jaw when he separates from her and instead focuses on putting his thoughts into words.

    There's so much Keisuke can say to that one question, yet he can't bring himself to pick the right words, the right answer. Before Haru moved in with the Hanagaki's, Keisuke was free to go over and surprise the boy whenever he wanted; they'd hangout, just the two of them without anyone's curious eyes watching them from a distance. He would be free to hug the boy, cuddle him, seek warmth and comfort without anyone staring at him like he's weird.

    He'd be able to cry into Takemichi's shoulder without judgment. His small hands would come up and run through his black strands of hair, slowly lulling Keisuke to sleep. They would be in their own little world, ignoring the darkness that threatens to take over their lives. The violence that Keisuke craves so much, is practically addicted to, washes away when he's with Takemichi and is replaced with the urge to protect. It's a rather warm feeling, significantly different from the raging fire that would normally consume Keisuke.

    But then Haru came along and took all of that away from him.

    He's about to jump off the couch and run into his bedroom to punch away his frustrations, when another thought crosses his mind.

    Why did Haru move in with the Hanagakis?

    A feeling of shame and guilt engulfs his stomach, making him feel as if he needed to throw up. Was he really so consumed in his...frustrations that he totally forgot to ask such a question?

    Keisuke pulls his legs up to his chest and places his chin on top of his knees.

     This isn't really Haru's fault.

    He also deserves a place where he can feel safe (even if Keisuke hates that it has to be Takemichi's place).

    Keisuke's not blind—he's noticed the way Haru's attitude and overall character has changed since the incident. He's more closed off, snappier and defensive, and hardly talks to his younger sister Senju. Not just that, but he's been coming to school late as well with poor excuses. Dark bruises have formed underneath his eyelids making him look like a walking zombie in a western film.

    However, the most important thing that's changed about the boy is his relationship with his older brother.

    Takeomi Akashi.

    He's always had a feeling that they never had a good relationship to begin with, but—for some reason—it got worse over the years. Takeomi's been known to put off Haru's needs in favor of his own and has treated the boy like—like rubbish.

    Keisuke doesn't have any older siblings so he's not sure if this is normal, but whatever relationship the two of them have is obviously very damaging to Haru.

    Takeomi must be the reason he's moved in with the Hanagaki's.

    He must have done something unforgivable—something terrible if Ms.Hanagaki has taken Haru in as her own.

    Did he hurt Haru?

    Neglect him to the point Haru no longer wanted to return to him?

    Push him over the edge until Haru wanted nothing to do with the older Akashi?

    The possibilities are endless.

    With an annoyed huff, Keisuke jumps off the couch. Ignoring his mother's protests (which will definitely earn him a smack or two later), he heads towards the exit of the apartment and opens the door, a mission already beginning to take place in his mind.

    If Haru won't provide answers, then he'll just have to go to someone else to get the full scope of what the hell is going on.

    With determination burning in his brown eyes, he begins to head over to Takemichi's apartment.

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For the first time in two weeks, Haru isn't with Takemichi In the apartment.

    The only people Keisuke can see is Ms.Hanagaki and Takemichi.

    "Hey!" Keisuke greets loudly, almost forgetting to slam the door shut on his way in.

    Ms.Hanagaki, who's reading something in a magazine on the couch, briefly looks up and throws the boy a lazy smile. "Hey kiddo. How've you been?" She asks, her blue eyes hazy and half lidded.

    "M' been good. You look like you're about to pass out," he mentions offhandedly, earning him a frown from the lady.

    "Shut it kid. You look like you just got done crying your eyes out—"

    "Kei-Chan! Hi!!!" Takemichi thankfully interrupts. He jumps up from his spot on the couch and makes his way towards Keisuke with a couple of skips. Surprising Keisuke, he grabs a hold of Keisuke's arm and guides him to the couch. "Look what mama bought me!" He exclaims loudly, his voice full of excitement.

    Despite himself, Keisuke smiles back and lets himself be pulled by the arm. He stares at the hands pulling him towards the couch, relishing in the soft feel of his warm skin atop of Keisuke's.

    He almost finds himself getting lost in the soft touch. Quickly shaking himself back to reality, he looks at what greets him on the couch and—

    Huh?

    Keisuke tilts his head, more than a little confused.

    "A camera?" He questions, eying the device laying beside Takemichi's mother on the couch.

    Takemichi nods his head, his blue eyes filled with excitement. "Yeah!!! A Polaroid camera!!! Now we can take lots of pictures together!" He shouts loudly with a giggle. Takemichi then jumps on top of the bed and pulls Keisuke along with him, making the boy clumsily fall on top of his best friend.

    Not bothering to move from his spot on Takemichi lap (which is very comfortable, but you didn't hear that from him!), Keisuke watches as Takemichi reaches for the camera with his small warm hands. Keisuke wonders, for a second, if those hands could imprint marks on the camera, branding it as Takemichi's with how scorching hot his palms are.

    He doesn't ponder on it for long since Takemichi practically shoves the camera in Keisuke's face. Keisuke snatches it from Takemichi's hands and takes a look at the device, taking note of the similarities between this camera and the one his mother already owns.

    "Why'd you buy a camera?" He asks as he turns the camera in his hands, trying to get a good look at the device.

    Takemichi, very suddenly, grows quiet.

    Keisuke turns to look at his friend, wondering why the boy is taking so long to answer such a simple question, and catches the sight of a soft blush coating the boy's cheeks.

    The view causes something in Keisuke's chest to beat loudly, beating against his rib cage with so much ferocity.

    Oh, he thinks dazedly, not being able to take his eyes off the pink color decorating Takemichi's cheeks and button