TW: Language, drinking, mild abuse.

After school Akihiko was mindlessly cleaning the classroom with his classmates. The tick of the clock was the only thing to be heard as he wiped down desks, thoughts swirling through his head.

His cooking reminded me so much of her.

He felt a pang of sadness in his gut, and his heart raced as his mind flashed back to his recurrent nightmare.

Why did you do it, Mom?

"Hellooooooo, Aki?" Nomi snapped her finger once and he looked up at her.

"What?" He said, somewhat sharply.

"It's getting late, everyone already left." She pointed up at the classroom, which was empty besides the two of them.

He looked up at the clock,

Fuck, I'm late getting Kanada.

He dropped his cleaning cloth and left the classroom in a rush. By the time he arrived his sister was already standing out front, she still gave him a smile as he ran up, out of breath and full of guilt.

"I'm sorry." He said immediately.

"Don't be, I'm just glad you showed up." She said quietly, "I hate walking home alone."

He sighed; his mother used to be the one to pick her up. The guilt ate at him even more as they walked home in silence, each with a unanimous hope their father wasn't home.

When they arrived, Akihiko reached into his pocket and shook his handful of coins near Amadas ear, she smiled in anticipation.

"You did work today!" She said, excitedly.

"Not exactly, but Issei loaned me some money." He responded, watching her fish in her own bag. He heard a familiar clink as she shook her own handful of coins in her hand. "Please buy me something sweet?" She pleaded, holding out her yen.

Akihiko chuckled and swiped a few coins from her, being mindful to leave her some of her own. "Fine."

She squealed excitedly and went into the house, he waited until he saw her enter and headed in his own direction, towards the closest store. When he arrived, there were plenty of people wall to wall shopping. The store by his house was rather small, after all. He grabbed a basket and walked directly to the meats, which he quickly noticed were far out of his price range. He saw a block of tofu and snatched it up, remembering how his mother used to prepare it frequently. Another pang of sadness pierced him. He shook it away and gathered a few other ingredients, meticulously calculating the cost the entire time.

It's barely enough.

He sighed in annoyance, remembering Kanadas request for something sweet. Eventually, he found his way through multiple people, towards the candy aisle and stopped in front of it. He contemplated for several minutes how to manage but his conscience had other ideas.

Just take it.

He thought about letting her down, simply walking out without it, but a flash of her face made him reconsider. His hand found a melon candy and he quickly put it in his pocket. He looked around anxiously, locking eyes with Yuki who was standing a ways down the aisle.

Oh fuck. Shimada saw me.

Akihiko chuckled nervously and waved at him, gathering his things before checking out, his face was hot with embarrassment.

When he arrived home the house was silent, Amada was at the table doing her homework. He quickly tossed her the melon candy, and she smiled at him gratefully before unwrapping it.

"Thank you so much." She said, munching happily.

"Yeah, don't mention it." He said, a tinge of guilt coating his words. He silently put the groceries away when they heard the door open and shut. His stomach sank as he realized just what that meant. His father quickly entered the kitchen,

"Good, you got dinner." He said, "I won't be paid for a while."

Akihiko scoffed and pulled out his phone, searching for any method to cook the ingredients he just bought. His sister started cleaning up her books as their father opened the fridge, putting several cans of beer away.

"So, you can afford beer, but not to feed us." Akihiko said, disdainfully.

"You watch your mouth." His father retorted, slamming the fridge shut before the expected crack of a can could be heard throughout the kitchen. The TV turned on and Amada got up from her seat.

"Let me help you cook." She said, eavesdropping on the video he was watching.

"Alright but be careful."

The two of them cooked together to the best of their abilities.

"It's....ummmmm." Amada said, chewing it respectfully.

"Yeah, It's disgusting. I know."

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They both laughed until they heard a bowl slam into the sink behind them. Their father stood there, rummaging through the fridge for another beer.

"I can't believe the two of you can even laugh after that meal, it was hardly edible." Silence befell the kitchen and Akihikos anger welled up inside him. "I'd like to see you do any better." He whispered under his breath.

The fridge slammed shut once again, "What was that?" He said, somewhat loudly.

"I said, I'd like to see you do any better."

Amada shrank down into her chair, her chopsticks methodically placing food into her mouth in silence.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that, boy." He spat, "You need to do better, not me. I do enough for this family."

"What do you do?" He retorted, "Because it sure seems like we've been doing everything since mom died."

His father suddenly threw his full can of beer towards him, it whizzed past his head and smashed against the wall, spraying all over the kitchen floor. Amada jumped in her chair and moved away from the liquid pooling at her feet. Akihiko grit his teeth.

"Clean this mess up." His father said lowly, "And don't you dare disrespect me like that again."

Akihiko waited for him to retreat, before getting up from his chair. Amada had tears in her eyes and got up with him, they mopped up the kitchen together in silence.

Akihiko woke up the next morning like he did every morning, gasping for air. The recurrent nightmare stealing the breath from his lungs every night. He sat on the edge of his bed, steadying his breathing for a few minutes.

Why was I the one that had to find you, mom.

He pictured the crimson blood leaking from her arm, decorating her bath water with a lethal amount of color. His palms became sweaty with anxiety, and he wiped them on his sweatpants. An unsettling feeling filled his stomach as he got out of bed, this time, early enough to ensure Amada got fed.

When he reached downstairs his father was asleep in the living room, a can of beer still placed firmly in his hand. He snored loudly, the sound filling up the downstairs. Akihiko made what little they had left for breakfast that morning, he tried experimenting with different spices his mother had in the kitchen, but he ultimately ended up ruining his own eggs. He still ate them in protest, but his stomach hurt shortly after.

After dropping off his sister he caught up to Issei on the walk to school, huffing loudly.

"You dick, you didn't even wait." He said.

Issei just laughed, "I knew you would catch up. You're a track star after all."

The truth was Akihiko hadn't been to track practice in a couple weeks. A new kind of guilt to harbor settled in his chest. "Thanks for reminding me."

"What are friends for?" Issei said, jokingly.

"Any new leads on work?" He asked curiously.

"Well, if you want to suck it up and work weekends, you could work the night shift at the convenience store. They're hiring right by my house."

"I meant quick money." He protested.

"I already told you not to. It was bad enough I let you do it a few times in the past"

"I need the money, Issei. Last night I had to steal." He admitted.

He sighed, "Fine. If you need it so badly, there's a concert to work this weekend where you could sell. But it won't help you today." He said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"I'll manage until then." He said, but a sense of uncertainty swelled in his gut.

"I think you should still look for something in the meantime." Issei responded.

"I'll try, alright." He said, only speaking half the truth.

"I really hope so, don't end up like me." He joked.

The two of them chatted all the way up to the gates of school and into homeroom, where Akihiko barely paid any attention in class. He waited, counting the ticks of the clock, until it was finally lunch time.

I'm going to ask him to teach me to cook.

His thoughts kept going back to his sister, and her need for guidance.

Someone has to teach her to take care of herself.

He rounded the corner past the cafeteria, all the way to the home economics classroom. But he didn't smell anything. He didn't hear anything. He sighed, defeated as his eyes scanned the room.

Empty. Where could he be?

He walked back to the cafeteria and plopped down next to Issei, groaning loudly.

"What's your deal?" Issei said, stuffing his mouth full of rice.

"Have you seen Shimada?" Akihiko asked, curiously.

"Who?" Issei said through his bites, his mouth half full.

"Yuki Shimada." He repeated.

"You mean that weird kid one grade below us, with the bleached hair?"

Akihiko looked at him angrily, "Aren't we all weird kids?" He said in protest.

"I mean, speak for yourself." He laughed before continuing, "But no I haven't seen him, why?"

"I just...wanted to ask him something."

"What, to help you study or something?" Issei said, chomping loudly.

"Something like that."

"Try the courtyard, I hear a lot of the second years go there for lunch now."

"Thanks man" he said before getting up, navigating the halls to the courtyard outside. There were several trees decorating the landscape, stone fences trailed down each side of the walkway providing seating for the many students who were outside enjoying the good weather. Akihiko scanned the courtyard quickly, looking for Shimada in the sea of bodies. He sighed audibly when he heard his name being called out,

"Aki!"

He groaned, recognizing her voice, "What Nomi." He said, his eyes still searching for Shimada.

"I made this for you." She held out a bento box, wrapped neatly with an elastic band. Her head was bowed somewhat, hiding her face, but he could tell her cheeks were crimson.

"Why are you giving me this?" He questioned, still accepting it.

"I just noticed that you haven't been eating much lately, and I figured it could have something to do with the school food. So, I made an extra one this morning."

"Well...thanks." He said, "But have you seen Shimada?"

"Shimada? Why?" She asked curiously.

"Just answer the question Nomi." He said, somewhat annoyed.

"I saw him go to counseling today after class." She finally replied, "Will you at least tell me if you liked the bento later?"

"Sure, whenever I see you next." He said, hurrying off towards the counselor's office.

When he arrived the hallway was empty, and it was eerily quiet. He took a seat down the hall and pulled out his phone, scrolling aimlessly through cooking videos again. Finally, he heard the door crack open, and Shimada came out, his eyes were tinged pink.

"Shimada!" He called out.

Yuki looked over, somewhat surprised. "Araki, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." He admitted, "I wanted to ask you something."

"What?" He replied, quietly.

"Teach me to cook." He said, demandingly.

"W-what?" Yuki stammered, "But I barely know how to cook myself."

"That's not true at all, your cooking was amazing."

Yuki avoided his gaze, "That was simple practice, Araki I'm not a chef..."

"Whatever it was, I need to know how to do it." He bowed a little bit and spoke under his breath, "Please." He said, in basically a whisper.

Yuki sighed, "Why? You can just go join a club after school, you know they can teach you there."

"It's not the same, you don't understand."

"What does that mean?" Yuki questioned.

"I haven't had anything taste like that since my mom died." He admitted to him somewhat shocking even himself.

He remained quiet for a few moments before speaking, "Why did you steal that candy yesterday?"

"I-" He stopped for a moment, deciding whether or not to lie, "I stole it for my sister. I didn't have enough money." He said lowly, avoiding his gaze.

"I see...well, I guess I can teach you what little I know."

Akihiko bowed immediately again, "Oh thank you, thank you thank you Shimada." He said multiple times as the bell rang out. He turned to walk away and he heard Yukis voice again, "I'm sorry about your mom, Araki."

He stopped in his tracks and felt that familiar sadness grip his chest, "T-thanks." He stammered; his sudden happiness blanketed by the memories.