• A Scattering of Sakura Blossoms
    by Iori “Yuki” Takashi

    Adrian stood by the school’s door, resting his back against a pole. At last, he saw Soichiro making his way out throng of people flooding of the door. He dodged his way through the crush of the crowd, finally making his way to the bat.

    “Hey Soichiro. How was your day?” He asked his adopted brother, grinning a little. Soichiro looked over at him, half-smirking as he answered.

    “It was fine. Excepting that I dislike most of my classes, and there’s not been a single trace of him.” He replied, a touch snappishly. Adrian looked over at him, raising an eyebrow.

    “What’s wrong, bro? Something’s troubling you, isn’t it?” He asked, sounding more serious than he usually did, concern crossing his features. Soichiro shook his head.

    “I’ll tell you when we get home, alright? It’s rather personal.” Soichiro answered, looking at the ground with a small sigh. Adrian walked alongside him, gently wrapping an arm around him, until the duo reached Soichiro’s car, and even then, Adrian’s hand never left Soichiro. The ride to the two’s house didn’t take long after the initial bout with the parking lot traffic. In about twenty minutes, the duo pulled up to Adrian’s family’s house. They both went in, saying a quick hello to Adrian’s mom. After grabbing a quick snack from the kitchen, the duo ran up the stairs, deciding to sit and talk in Adrian’s room. Taking the first door on the right, the pair popped into the organized chaos that was Adrian’s abode. Scattered across the floor were books, magazines, and a very eclectic menagerie of other things, ranging from toy Nerf guns to a set of wooden swords that Adrian had carved. Adrian pushed a few books off of his bed, clearing enough space for Soiciro to take a seat as Adrian sat down on the floor.

    “Alright, what’s got you so upset, Soichi-kun?” Adrian asked, tilting his head as he asked, his ears back against his head in a surprising display of actual concern. Soichiro looked at a wall for a moment, then sighed, dropping his gaze to the floor.

    “It’s…it’s all the people there. I’ve overheard quite a lot of talk, what with these ears, and…well… it seems like there are a lot of people who hate anyone who isn’t perfectly straight. N-not that that concerns me, of course. I’m just worried about you, that’s all.” He stammered, his large, soft ears twitching, their movement mussing his silky black hair, making the long bangs that usually framed his face fall to the center, directly in front of his eyes. Adrian smiled a little, because he knew that when Soichiro’s ears did that, it meant that the slightly older bat was hiding something.

    “There’s something else you’re not telling me, Soichi-kun…” He teased, his ears twitching as he smiled. Soichiro pushed his bangs aside, sighed, then finally conceded.

    “Alright, I’ll admit it. There were…a few guys that I thought were pretty darn cute in my classes today, okay?” He said, sounding a touch revolted with himself. Adrian chuckled a little, leaning in closer to him with a smirk on his face.

    “What’s wrong with that, exactly?” He said, gently teasing his adopted brother, his tail wagging languidly. Soichiro snorted a little, rolling his eyes at the fox.

    “Just because you like guys, and you have a boyfriend, that doesn’t make it normal, Adrian.” Soichiro retorted, gently shoving Adrian away from him. Adrian sighed, sat back down, and gave Soichiro a pouty stare.

    “Uh-huh. Ri~ght. You’ve said that before, but after all…” He was cut off by Soichiro grabbing the nearest object he could, which happened to be a rather large book in this case, and flinging it straight into his head. Adrian flinched, the force of the book knocking him cleanly over, as Soichiro started shouting at him.

    “For the last goddamn time, I’m not Gay, Bi, or anything the hell like that! Get that through your thick, stupid, ******** head, you stupid queer! If you think that what happened that one time changes anything, you’re wrong! Just shut up! Shut the hell up!” Soichiro fumed, standing up and storming out of the room, making sure to give Adrian a sharp kick to the ribs as he did so. Adrian lay there on the floor, eyes closed tight against the pain in his head and his ribs, wondering why his brother would always get so aggressive when that subject was brought up. He had tried time and again to convince Soichiro that there wasn’t anything wrong with liking guys, but every time, he ended up on the floor. “Like I am now.” he added mentally. Slowly, he sat up, holding a hand over his bleeding nose, and walked over to get a Kleenex. “Ow…Note to self. Watch out what Soichiro has nearby next time I try to bring that up…” He thought silently…