Five minutes. Just five more minutes.

Haru listened to the seconds ticking away on his watch, each one amplifying the annoying itch under his skin. Five minutes left until he could leave. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t like his job, he did. Bike repair was easy enough. The low stress environment was nice and the manager had always been good to him. But some days… some days were just dull as hell. He’d only gotten two customers to his department and one of them, some dick high schooler with an undercut, had been too loud for his taste. Bitching and moaning about every little thing.

Demanding

Obnoxious

Loud

Too LOUD

…

He took a deep breath. 

It was fine. It all be over soon. Just grin and bear it.

Five more minutes. 

Three-hundred more ticks. 

And it would all be worth it, once he could go home and see his little brother. His sweet, adorable, perfect little Aki. The thought alone of his cute babyface soothed the maddening itch. Imagining walking him home from school, side by side, hand in hand, listening to his soft voice babble on about his day was like imagining heaven. 

Just like that, three-hundred ticks passed like three. 

Haru clocked out and ran the five blocks to Aki’s elementary school. He was already in the fifth grade and Haru couldn’t be prouder, as well as grateful that he had gotten a job so close by.

Aki stood by the front gate of the school as he did every day, rocking on the heels of his feet. He kept his wide, sad eyes on the ground, only looking up every so often as the other kids passed him by. The boy was so timid and shy, his eyes were almost stuck that way, but the way they lit up when he saw his big brother made Haru’s heart soar!

“Haru-nii!” Aki cheered and threw himself into his arms. “I missed you!” 

“I missed you too,” Haru said, as if they hadn’t parted ways a mere six hours ago. He gave Aki a big squeeze and took his hand. “Ready to go?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Good. The sky was turning an ugly, thick gray as clouds crowded together above them. Haru didn’t have their umbrella so he couldn’t risk Aki getting caught in the rain and catching a cold. Poor thing was so fragile. It was best if they went straight home. 

“IZUMI!” a shrill voice shouted.

The boys jumped. Of course it couldn’t be that easy. Not today. The way Aki tensed up didn’t go unnoticed either. 

There was that itch again. 

Marching towards them was a frumpy strict looking woman, ignoring the startled looks from the other students and teachers as she stomped up to the brothers. 

“Izumi, is this your brother?” she asked. 

Obviously, Haru thought, Like Aki would ever hold someone else’s hand. 

“Haruhiko Izumi, ma’am,” he said, bowing his head, earning a sneer from the harpy. 

“This is my history teacher, Kinugawa-sensei,” Aki said, just barely above a whisper as he scuffed his sneakers on the ground. 

“Speak up, Izumi!” Kinugawa snapped.

Aki stood up straight and repeated himself, a little louder this time. 

Haru wanted to strike the old hag on the spot, but with dozens of eyes on them now, he gripped Aki’s hand like an anchor and tried to calm himself down. 

“Is there a problem?” he asked, cutting to the chase. 

Formalities were troublesome and a waste of time in his opinion. Seniority was a joke, he just didn’t get it. People were people, nothing more. Students, teachers, employers, employees, randos on the street, it didn’t matter. They were all the same in the end. 

Kinugawa’s scowl deepened at the blatant lack of respect and ordered them to follow her inside. No “please.” No “is this a good time?” Hell, she didn’t even have the decency to look at them as she said it before storming back inside. As much as Haru wanted to blow the bitch off and take Aki home, he didn’t want to make a scene. 

He’d had custody of his brother for two years now, but they still did their best to keep their heads down. Aki’s cheeks were dusted bright pink as he felt the eyes of his peers dragging over him, squirming in Haru’s crushing grasp. 

Reluctantly, they followed Kinugawa back into the school and to Aki’s classroom. Haru hadn’t spent much time in his own school growing up, so he didn’t remember what his old classrooms had looked like. This one was bright and clean, if not a little eerie now that the students had all left. They took a seat across from where Kinugawa stood. Haru held in a snort at her petty display of authority. He figured she must have liked lecturing down at little kids more than up at adults. As if she was trying to make him take her seriously. 

“Izumi-san, are you aware of how Akihiko is doing in school?” she asking, passing Haru a stack of papers. 

It was unsettling to hear Aki’s full name, but he shook it off and flipped through the papers, a collection of Aki’s school work. Of course he was aware of how he was doing. He knew everything about his little brother. It’s just that Aki… wasn’t the best student. He passed, barely, but he was doing his best! Haru hadn’t been a good student either. He finished middle school and his grades were terrible, so he hadn’t bothered with high school. Honestly, he hadn’t been wild about Aki going to school at all, especially if this was the sort of thing he was dealing with. 

“He’s passing,” Haru said, “I don’t see the problem.” 

“He’s the only one that’s this far behind the rest of his classmates and he can barely keep up! And it’s not just my class, ask any of his teachers.”

Aki kept his head down, ashamed as his shortcomings were thrown out in front of them and fearful of how Haru would react. 

“Would you recommend a tutor?” Haru asked.

He couldn’t tell where she was going with this, but he’d play along for now. Teachers were easy to placate with empty promises. Smile and nod enough and they’d drop it eventually. 

Kinugawa shook her head, her ramble was far from over. 

“Akihiko is also very withdrawn from his classmates. I know he’s shy, a lot of kids his age are, but he won’t talk unless spoken to and he outright refuses to play with anyone. It’s like he’s afraid of them. He’s not functioning on the same level as his peers, he’s falling behind academically and socially.” 

Haru sighed. She was right. Aki was quiet and kept to himself, which didn’t make it easy for him to make friends. Adults saw this as a problem for some reason. They didn’t need friends to be happy, they had each other for that.

“He hasn’t mentioned any problems to me. Is there an issue with the other kids? Are they bullying him?”

God help them if they were. 

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“No! Nothing like that,” Kinugawa quickly backtracked, “I’m just worried about Aki’s wellbeing and I’m concerned that you might be enabling this childish behavior.”

“He’s ten! He is a child!” Haru snapped. 

Aki flinched at the sudden harshness of his tone, knowing that nothing good ever followed it. Haru was too caught up in his own frustration to notice, but Kinugawa had. 

“I understand that you two are living on your own since your parents passed away, yes?

  Haru’s face darkened as Aki’s paled, blood freezing solid in his veins as he tried to make himself invisible. 

“We don’t like to talk about it,” Haru said through clenched teeth. 

They hadn’t uttered a single word about it since that day. It still upset Aki to think about and that made Haru’s itch even worse, going from a scratchy bug bite to maggots trying to dig their way out of his pores. 

“It must be a challenge, raising your kid brother by yourself. How old are you again? Seventeen?”

“Eighteen and we get by.” 

“All the same, I’m concerned that Akihiko may not be getting the help and attention he needs at home.”

She looked over to the boy in question. Small, thin body, bruises and scrapes on his arms and legs, overlapping the old healed marks, going up to his neck and even onto his face. Faint ghosts from a past that was best forgotten, but still more than enough cause for suspicion. 

An inferno exploded under Haru’s skin, he wanted to peel it away and tear it all out from his flesh!

How dare she?!

How dare she speak to him this way?! Like he wasn’t a good guardian! Like he wasn’t a good brother!

How dare she look at Aki like that?! How dare she upset him?! HOW DARE SHE?!

Haru shot up out of his chair, ready to lunge at the bitch, but a trembling hand caught the sleeve of his coat. 

Aki looked up at his, tears swimming in his big black eyes.

“I’d like to go home now please,” he said shakily.

The itch clawed Haru’s flesh raw, but he couldn’t say no. Not to a request like that.

He took Aki’s hand and went to the door. 

“Sorry for taking up your time, I’ll look into getting him a tutor,” he grumbled. 

Kinugawa, not realizing the danger she had been in, was aghast at being dismissed in such a way. She tried to head them off, but recoiled when she saw Haru’s icy, dead-eyed glare. Aki held on tightly to him and shot Kinugawa a pleading look. A warning. 

“I- I expect to see improvement,” she stammered. “Soon.”

The boys said nothing, only bowed their heads and took their leave. 

Haru made the trip home at a punishing speed that Aki had to run to keep up with, tripping over himself as he was dragged along. Thunder boomed overhead and by the time they finally made it home, they were both soaked. 

They lived in a small one room apartment in an older building of a quiet suburb. Haru made sure to find a place close to work and school so they’d never have to stray too far away from home. He undid the three heavy locks on the door and shoved Aki inside, forcing him to stumble to his knees. The boy quickly slipped his shoes off and scurried onto the tatami padded floor, giving Haru a wide berth to pace. 

“That bitch! That meddlesome, horrid bitch!” he snarled under his breath. 

She was trouble. She wasn’t safe. He couldn’t let her be around Aki every day. He should have kept Aki home, he didn’t need school, but Aki had begged him to let him go. If he pulled him out now, people would start asking questions. How many people had seen her talking to them? Had she spoken to the other teachers about this? Was she going to? She was going to ruin everything!

No. 

He could fix this. 

He had to fix this. 

“Haru-nii…” 

Haru whipped around to see Aki on his knees, shivering in his wet clothes, rubbing away an onslaught of tears with his tiny fists. 

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, please don’t be mad. I promise, I’m doing my best. I didn’t mean to cause trouble, I swear!”

Haru gasped and knelt down, pulling Aki into a hug. 

“Shh, it’s okay,” he shushed, rubbing circles in his back, “I’m not mad at you. It’s all gonna be ok. Haru-nii’s going to take care of everything.”

He felt Aki shudder in his embrace, reminding him of their damp clothes, now soaking the floor. This would be his best chance. There was still time and his itch was still white hot. 

“Go dry off and get changed. I’ll make us something warm to drink.” 

Relieved, Aki went to do as he was told, while Haru set about making their drinks. Coffee for himself and hot milk for Aki. As the milk boiled, he pulled two mugs from the cabinet and a small bottle from the top shelf, where Aki couldn’t reach by himself. 

Sleeping pills were harmless in small doses. Haru liked to slip him one or two at bedtime when he wanted to make sure Aki would sleep through the night and not be woken up so easily. Half a pill would be enough for a nap. 

Crushing it into a fine powder, he mixed it into the thick, creamy milk and added a few generous spoonfuls of honey to cover the chalky bitterness. 

When Aki came back, now in clean sweats, he smiled widely and handed him his mug. 

“Careful, it’s still hot,” he said.

“Thanks!” 

Aki’s sweet smile warmed Haru’s heart better than any cup of coffee could, but it wasn’t enough to soothe the itch this time. 

Even as he watched Aki blow on his milk and take long, careful sips, the burning radiated from the base of his neck, down to his hands and feet. The pain was unbearable, but he wouldn’t have to wait much longer. 

“Aren’t you going to change?” Aki asked. “You’ll... you’ll ca...”

Aki’s eyes were drooping heavily, his hands started to shake and he felt dizzy. He set his mug down and tried to stand, but his legs were too tired to hold his weight. Luckily, his brother was there, waiting to catch him when he fell. 

Out like a light. 

There wasn’t time to set up the futon, but Haru made quick work of tucking Aki in, nestled up with his blanket by the heater. He knew Aki didn’t like sleeping alone, much less waking up alone, so he hoped this wouldn’t take too long. 

He grabbed his keys, phone, and a small kitchen knife that wouldn’t look totally obvious in his coat pocket, then slipped quietly back outside.

Sprinting back towards the school, Haru didn’t bother with an umbrella. He wouldn’t be able to hide well with one, so he chose to keep his coat hood up instead. Luck was on his side as he caught Kinugawa leaving and heading toward the train station. Perfect. The road there had a thick line of trees that ran along the river and no one in their right mind would be out there in this weather. 

Haru kept his distance at first as he stalked behind her, timing his footsteps to match hers so the splashing puddles wouldn’t give him away. Halfway to the station, where the trees were the thickest, Haru picked up speed until he was right on top of her. She didn’t even have a chance to scream before he clamped a hand over her mouth and pulled her into the trees towards the river. Haru wasn’t the biggest, but he was stronger than he looked. With little effort, he dragged her to the edge of the water as she kicked and twisted in his hold. 

He took his hand from her mouth, but before she could cry for help, he wrapped his arm around her throat, crushing her windpipe as he constricted like a snake. He could feel her pulse against his forearm. His never sped up like that, even in moments like this, though it did feel much more intense than normal. 

The longer he held on, the more it slowed as the life was choked out of her, and he couldn’t have that. It would be too merciful. He wanted her to feel this. He wanted her to feel the same pain she’d made them feel with her little threats. Make her cry like she made Aki cry. 

He pulled the knife from his pocket, reached around and plunged ruthlessly into Kinugawa’s chest, twisting it as it cut deep into her heart. Her struggles came to an abrupt halt as she coughed and convulsed. Slowly, Haru lowered her to the ground before pulling his knife out, letting her blood drain onto the grass. He needed to minimize any splatter, the last thing he wanted was to scare Aki if he came home bloody. 

Kinugawa was still now, barely hanging on as her body turned cold. Haru hovered over her, but it was so dark, he wasn’t sure if she recognized him through the rain and tears. As he saw the light dimming in her eyes, he reached down and pressed his fingers against her pulse once more. The pauses between beats grew longer and weaker until it faded away completely. 

Just like the others, her face had the same hallow look of fear mixed with pain. They were all the same, it didn’t matter who they were. In the end, they all bleed red. 

The cleanup was usually his favorite part. It so cathartic, and the closure of seeing something all the way through was comforting, but he didn’t have the time to dismember remains today. He still had to get home and get Aki dinner. So he settled for taking her jewelry and wallet, then rolling her body into the river, letting the current whisk her away to wherever it was it took a corpse. Just in case, he tossed the knife in after her. He wished he could have done more. The rain would wash away the blood and things would carry on like normal. Once he was sure he was clear of any splatter, he got back onto the sidewalk and began to jog home. 

At least that cow was good for something, he thought as he went through her wallet. He could splurge on dinner now. 

By the time he made it home, Haru had only been gone for two hours. The itch had mercifully died with Kinugawa and the sweet relief felt like he was flying. 

Aki was just waking up as he walked in, still groggy from the pills and had his thumb firmly planted in his mouth. Haru couldn’t help but take picture with his phone, it would make the perfect lock screen. 

“Hey sleepyhead,” he cooed, “You were napping pretty hard. Feel better?”

Aki nodded, yawning then blushing when he realized he had been sucking his thumb. Haru didn’t have the heart to tease him this time. After the day he’d had, he figured Aki needed the comfort. 

“Did you forget your umbrella?” he asked. “You need to remember or you’ll catch a cold.”

His concern made Haru want to cry.

“Haha, yeah. There was a break in the storm and I thought I could make it back before it started up again. On the bright side, I got curry!”

Aki giggled and shivered. His head felt fuzzy and he wanted to curl back up under his blanket now that Haru was back. Even in his sleep, it was lonely without his brother there. 

“How about we take a bath before dinner,” Haru said, “that should warm us up.”

Aki nodded and ran to start the tub on wobbly legs. As soon as Haru heard the water start, he set the food aside and snuck over to the storage closet with Kinugawa’s wallet. 

From the very back, he pulled out an old cigarette carton from underneath a loose floor panel. Inside was a small, but growing, pile of driver’s licenses and ID cards that Haru had been steadily collecting for two years now. At the bottom were his parents’ and at the top he placed Kinugawa’s teachers ID. Each one was a pleasant little reminder of what a good brother he was. How often he’d protected Aki. Kept him safe and taken care of. How there was nothing, absolutely nothing, he wouldn’t do for him. 

In the bath, Haru washed Aki’s back and rested his hand above his heart. A calm, steady beat inside of a clean, warm body. Haru held him close to his chest and savored the gentle thumps as their hearts beat perfectly in sync with one another.