Work Text:
Far Away
Words: 1743
Part 1: Haruka
As a child, Haruka was no stranger to the hospital. But it was not for him. One of his earlier memories was probably when they were three. Haruka did not really understand what was going on when his parents suddenly drove his twin to the hospital, but he quietly followed. Amidst the chaos of their mother trying to calm his younger brother down, Haruka could always remember how one of Kanata's knee swelled a fierce red. Just a few days ago, all Kanata had was a cut on his finger.
Kanata stayed in the hospital for the next few weeks. It was during this time when their parents confessed about a diagnosis that would stay with Kanata for life. As the older brother, Haruka always took the initiative to tend to him. He loved his brother and often read to him so he could fall asleep without anxiety. When Kanata needed physical therapy during recovery, Haruka was always by his side.
The next time they went to the emergency, a cough had gotten worse and the fever-ridden Kanata could not stop vomiting in the middle of the night. Their parents had to once again rush him to the hospital. At this stage, Haruka did not have much of a hard time remembering the name of Kanata's condition, mostly because he was always the one speaking for him.
Around the age of five, Haruka started to realise what was happening. Their parents gradually reduced their time and care for Kanata, making Haruka step in more and more. Remembering all of Kanata's medication and schedule became part of his duty. At the same time, he had to keep up with the adults' expectations and being signed up for classes he was not informed of before. Yet, his grades were still beyond excellent. A child prodigy, he was called.
Music was something Kanata could enjoy without spending much energy or time outside. He started piano one day, remembering how Haruka used to place his fingers on the keys while he practiced at home. When the offer to teach him rolled around, Haruka took it almost reluctantly. The time he had to himself grew shorter and he had to share his own leisure with someone else. Piano was no longer something enjoyable and Kanata's smile would ache him more.
When they entered elementary school, Haruka begun to struggle. He hated always seeing his brother outside the school gates, patiently waiting for him to go home together. Kanata wore a different uniform so that attracted a lot of attention. But Haruka could not abandon him and walk the other way, because their parents required him to bring Kanata home safely.
Kanata was a shy kid growing up and Haruka was his few source of social interaction, so it was no surprise that he would always share his school stories on the way home. Haruka would try to drown him out by blasting loud music into his ears. That did not please Kanata though, because he could not understand why his big brother was suddenly ignoring him nowadays. But that did not stop him from trying to get his attention. Besides, his big brother had always been the only one for him, right?
Music then became a bigger part of Haruka's life, but the reason was not something to be proud of. Things at home started to be... noisy, and people started to annoy him more. Other than having to put up with Kanata being around him, he had to shut out the screaming from outside his room. Kanata's grades started improving drastically but Haruka did not bother to know why. He hated dinner time that changed into singing praises for his brother. The child prodigy started losing his place.
When middle school came by, Kanata's condition had improved a lot, save for the few bed rest over the years. He learned that his big brother started playing the bass and effortlessly asked their parents for one. He loved to imitate his big brother and explore what makes him happy.
Towards the end of first year, Haruka dyed his hair blue and got a piercing. It got him a lot of scolding from their parents and school, but he did not care. He despised looking like his brother. Though, it did not take long for Kanata to follow suit and put on blue highlights on his own hair and a piercing. But what made Haruka's blood boil was how their parents did not lecture Kanata one bit. The child prodigy was now named a rebel.
During the second year, Kanata learned that his big brother had joined a band. He showed up to the band room one day, proudly introducing himself as Haruka's twin. Due to his cheerful demeanor, he became good friends with the other band members. Haruka soon noticed that the friendship he had with his fellow members became strained, he hardly talked to them outside of the band, or rather he could not.
In their third year, Kanata joined the band as a helper and things went downhill. Haruka's skills surpassed the other members and arguments broke out frequently. Kanata would always jump in to mediate, speaking over Haruka as if he knew better, and that disgusted Haruka a lot. The band could no longer keep up with Haruka and his stubbornness. After his last argument with the band, he left the room and never returned. Of course, Kanata quit alongside him. All that mattered was his big brother, and he would follow wherever he went.
High school came around and Haruka started guitar in a desperate attempt to find somewhere to belong. To his surprise, Kanata did not follow him this time and continued to play the bass on his own. Maybe he finally found a hobby to call his own. One day, a bratty elementary schooler showed up with an older boy at the livehouse, offering to recruit Haruka. The latter thought it was a sick joke, but Shu's determination was something he seldom saw, especially at that age. As for Kanata, well, he begged to join too. But Haruka held hope that maybe, just maybe, he could find something to enjoy again...
Part 2: Kanata
"What are those?" Tadaomi asked, pointing to the messy pile of pill boxes on the kitchen counter.
The members of epsilon phi had just moved to Tokyo for the upcoming Live Royal Festival. Some secrets were no longer kept secret.
"Oh these?" Kanata chirped then smiled, "they keep me alive!"
He downed the pills and water in a few large gulps without much difficulty. Tadaomi tilted his head to one side, observing Kanata neatly tidying them back into the cupboards. The latter then skipped out of the kitchen, most likely to bother Haruka again. Tadaomi had not seen someone who had to take such a number of pills.
On the day the rest of epsilon phi found out, Kanata suddenly collapsed in the middle of performance. The music trailed off and the entire livehouse fell silent. On the other end of the stage, Haruka instinctively took a step forward, but stopped himself before he managed to run to his brother. Reiji was next to shake off the shock and rushed to Kanata. The staffs also came forth and swiftly carried him off stage to avoid more pictures to be taken.
"Reiji, handle the fans as soon as possible," Shu instructed immediately as they disappeared into their waiting room.
"Understood."
"What's going on?" Tadaomi asked.
Reiji recalled the profile he had collected of Kanata and looked over at his only family member in this room.
"Haruka, do you know what must we do?"
The said male glanced at his brother who was flushed and unconscious on the sofa. He had seen this far too many times and frankly, he did not panic as much anymore.
"He won't die," he shrugged, but there was still a visible shake in his voice.
Reiji sighed and pulled out his phone, "regardless, I'm calling for an ambulance. Just to be sure."
Waking up on the hospital bed was nothing new for Kanata. He raised his arm slowly to where he could see the IV connected to his hand. He sighed, another dose of strong antibiotics and long recovery in the hospital. But this meant that he could see his big brother more often. However, when he looked to the side, the person on the chair was not Haruka.
"Karasuma-senpai," he called out.
Reiji woke up from what seemed to be a short-lived nap. He pushed his glasses up and replied, "ah, you're awake. Do you remember what happened?"
Kanata shook his head. All he knew right now was that he felt really tired, this was not foreign to him though, so he still held some suspicions.
"It's a good thing that we brought you here. You have pneumonia, but with your case it's harder to fight it off. You also had difficulty breathing so you received oxygen therapy. You're used to this, aren't you?"
"Mmm~ I've been like this my whole life!"
"I see. I apologise for my carelessness. I'll take better note of your condition. It's my duty to keep everyone in epsilon phi safe and healthy."
"It's not your fault, senpai! Anyways, where's aniki?"
"He didn't come. The others are in the sharehouse."
Hearing that, Kanata could not help but to feel dejected. His childhood had been tough but it was still sweet as he remembered. Haruka had always been by his side and taking care of him. Their parents grew tired of his condition, he could see that, so his huge comfort was his big brother. When he had no one else to rely on, he always had Haruka. So he did not understand why his big brother was slowly slipping away from him. He missed the old days when Haruka used to carry him on his back, or when Haruka was always there when he woke up from a fever.
But he knew he could not turn back time. All he could do was hold onto these memories for as long as possible. No matter what would happen, his favourite aniki would still be his favourite aniki. No matter how much Haruka pushed him away, yelled at him, or ignored him altogether, Kanata would still love him. After all, they are twins. After all... at the end of the day, they would only have each other.