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Kaigaku was supposed to head to the mall with his friends, but then the damn rain came. He clicked his tongue in annoyance as the first few drops fell, with his two friends similarly grumbling out their frustrations.
“Dammit! And to think good karma would come our way for actually attending classes this time.” Daki whined, the other students around them sidestepping the trio lest they incur dirty looks, nasty words, or a full-on brawl. Hell, with how pissed the three of them looked, there was a good chance all three might happen.
Gyutaro’s gravelly voice gave his own complaint, running a hand through his tangled hair. “Do we make a brat give us their umbrella?” He asked, glancing around. The other students of the academy, while avoiding the ire of the three worst delinquents in school, had also begun bringing out their umbrellas to brave the rain, and a few impatient souls had even settled for lifting their bags over their heads and running towards their given school buses and cars. Unfortunately, the three of them had planned on simply walking to the mall to save up money for food; which is why they were also without Gyutaro’s motorcycle.
In short, they were stranded.
At Gyutaro’s suggestion, Kaigaku shook his head and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, gesturing back to inside of the school. “No need, I already have an umbrella. Let me just get Zenitsu’s umbrella instead for you two; both of you just share or something.” He replied with a simple shrug. But truth be told, Kaigaku already half expected that Daki, the brat she was, would demand that she have the solo umbrella, while both her brother and friend would have to share.
As if proving Kaigaku's internal thoughts, Daki just groaned at the suggestion, tugging on his arm and sighing dramatically. “You’re an asshole! Wouldn’t it be easier to just take an umbrella from someone else?” She asked, her eyes already darting to a girl in pigtails and her blue, butterfly patterned umbrella. “Yellow doesn’t look good on me!”
Kaigaku flicked her forehead, earning a disgruntled cry and making Daki let go of his arm. “Yeah, but the idea of the crybaby walking home without an umbrella is funnier, don’t you think?” He snickered.
The three of them were notorious around the academy for their delinquency, and it was a miracle in and of itself that they managed to complete a full school day (Although, it had moreso to do with the fact that Mayor Kibutsuji had asked them to keep tabs on Nurse Tamayo for the day, but still!) They weren't without their hobbies at least, usually spending their time messing with the rest of the students, and one of their favorite victims was Kaigaku’s little foster ‘pest’. (As Kaigaku refused to refer to him as a brother, despite Zenitsu and Jigoro’s insistence)
Gyutaro gave a hoarse chuckle at the idea, with Daki adding her own feminine snickers behind her manicured hand. “I guess that’s true! Maybe he’ll get the flu and die or something.” She reasoned
“That’s the spirit,” Kaigaku affirmed, raising a fist above Daki’s head, meeting Gyutaro’s own and lightly bumping them together. “Give me 10 minutes, then we can head to the mall.”
“Hurry up, I’m staaaarving!” Daki droned, rubbing her stomach and pouting. She already wore her uniform as a midriff, giving a nice peek at her already flat stomach. If it weren’t for her being, well, Daki, Kaigaku would have offered her a compliment on her looks in an attempt to woo her.
But again, she was Daki, and he recoiled at the idea of him and her in any kind of romantic setup. Besides, he didn’t want to deal with Gyutaro’s ire on possibly hitting on his little sister. Said big brother raised a skeptical brow at his little sister's complaint. “I already gave you my bento, didn’t I?”
“Your bento barely had anything in it! You should really pack more lunch for yourself!” She huffed, now turning her attention to reprimand her big brother. Kaigaku rolled his eyes, their bickering still in his ears until he fully stepped back inside the building.
He already knew Zenitsu’s schedule well enough, with their sensei having insisted to tack each of their respective schedules on the fridge using respective blue and yellow magnets, as if they were little kids. He merely rolled his eyes then at the old man’s explanation of ‘That way you two will know wherever the other is in case you need help!’ but right now, he was grateful for Jigoro's stubbornness.
Not that he’ll ever admit that though.
Rolling the sentiment of with a shrug, he was already in the hallways where the first years conducted their classes. Thanks to the rain, most of the students had already left and only a few lingered about the corridors, a few of them quickly darting away from Kaigaku's assured steps. A quick flash of irritation and panic showed on his features, but he calmed himself as he knew that Zenitsu wouldn’t have left the school without sending him a short text message. 'im heading home!' or 'im passing by the fast food store! do u want anything?' or maybe just an annoying 'byeeee!', things like that.
Although, he was surprised from the sheer silence the hallways had, as the blonde was usually known for his loud screeching.
‘He wouldn’t have left without texting.’ He reminded himself, bringing out his phone and double checking for himself. True enough, there weren’t any new messages from the freeloader, with the last message being sent yesterday about ‘pls also buy gramps those ingredients he asked for’ followed by a ‘go to hell’ courtesy of himself. Frowning, he repocketed his phone and recalled Zenitsu’s class that day, as per the schedule on the fridge. Right, room 1-F. He was already near room 1-C, couldn’t be far now. Sure enough, as he walked along the hall, he could see room 1-F come into view, and if he could strain his ear, he could even hear Zenitsu’s annoying laughter. Brat, so he was just wasting the day here at school past dismissal. He rolled his eyes and approached the door, opening it without so much as a knock.
“Oi, Zenitsu, lend me your—”
The last thing he expected was to see the blonde’s arms draped loosely around someone else’s shoulders, the yellowed frayed sleeves of his sweater recognizable- as recognizable as the redheaded bastard locking lips with the blonde. Quickly pulling back from the kiss, Zenitsu paled and his eyes widened at his older brother at the door, his hands moving to swiftly rest on the shoulders of his apparent 'buddy'. “Kaiga—”
“GET THE FUCK OFF OF HIM!” Kaigaku yelled, rushing forward to throttle the little twerp that had been kissing Zenitsu. It was to his utter anger that, now that the guy was facing him in shock, he could see that it was none other than Tanjiro Kamado, Gyutaro’s own bane.
But just before he managed to reach them, Zenitsu always had been faster. Practically body blocking him before he could make contact. He felt Zenitsu push back against his chest, his strength easily matching Kaigaku. “K-Kaigaku, calm down!”
Using his free hand, he pointed an accusatory finger at Tanjiro. “What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” He screamed at the redhead, whose eyes were still wide. As if he was innocent and not swapping spit with the blonde.
“I was…kissing him?” Tanjiro offered, an embarrassed flush on his own face. But truthfully, seemed as if he was blushing less from embarrassment, and more from doing...that with Zenitsu.
Which only made Kaigaku scowl even more. How dare this brat even talk back after the—the indecency of kissing Zenitsu?! Kaigaku attempted to raise his foot to kick the redhead, as if he could get a better range of striking. “I’m going to stomp on your fucking neck!”
But before he could throttle Kamado formally, Kaigaku was then given another harsh push by Zenitsu, and thanks to one leg up in the air, he stumbled backwards. Not enough to make him fall flat on his ass though, and definitely not enough for him to let up on his attempted assault. Although, Kaigaku stepping backwards did give Zenitsu the chance to huff and raise his hands in the air, in a misguided attempt to placate him.
“Aniki, calm down—!”
“Don’t fucking tell me to calm down! This fucker,” Another harsh point towards Tanjiro, whose eyes even widened more in surprise (How fucking annoying) “Was sucking your face off!”
“Oh my GOD, we were kissing! It’s n-nnormal for boyfriends to kiss!”
“And when the HELL did you get a fucking BOYFRIEND?!”
“I-DUMBASS, I've had one for FOUR months now!”
“WHAT THE FUCK!” It came out less than a question, more as an enraged curse. He took an incensed step forward, towards Kamado and again Zenitsu blocked him. Kaigaku wasn't even looking at his supposed target, his blue eyes boring into Zenitsu's brown. “Like hell you’re dating him!”
“And why not!? I like him, he likes—”
“Kaigaku is your brother!?” Tanjiro interjected, surprised at the revelation. Zenitsu seemed to deflate a bit at having been interrupted as he let out a sigh, but he gave a nod. Fine, at least it stopped him from shouting his lungs out towards the brunette.
“Y-yeah, we were both adopted by—”
“We’re being fostered, dumbass!”
“Gramps said that we’re practically h-his sons—”
“STOP calling him gramps!” Kaigaku hissed back through gritted teeth, and Tanjiro could see the familial resemblance, even if not by blood. Although…
“Then why does Kaigaku bully you all the time?” Tanjiro frowned, his eyebrows furrowed. It was a genuine concern, as he couldn’t recall a time when Kaigaku didn’t pass by Zenitsu in the hallways without a firm smack to the head received by the blonde. With a gaggle of his own younger siblings, Tanjiro turned his frown towards Kaigaku. “As an older brother, you’re not supposed to—”
“Shut the hell up, Kamado!” Kaigaku threatened, raising his fist dangerously and only stopped by Zenitsu's figure in front of him. Although, that only turned Tanjiro’s concern over Zenitsu to defiance towards Kaigaku.
“You’re not supposed to hit anyone, least of all Zenitsu! He’s kind, brave, and—”
“Oh yeah? Well, this brave idiot is going home!” Kaigaku announced suddenly, grabbing Zenitsu by the wrist, pulling him with him towards the door. Zenitsu yelped and scrambled to be freed, using his free hand to try and pry his wrist free, but Kaigaku's grip only turned tighter.
“Zenitsu!” Tanjiro made a move to tug Zenitsu back, but an imploring look of assurance from his boyfriend caused him to stop in his tracks, but the same concern over his features was present. Zenitsu then made his own attempt to placate his older brother, a whine in his voice.
“Kaigaku! I was planning on heading home later—”
“Yeah well, I was planning on going to the mall with my friends, but since you were sucking face with someone—”
“Stop referring to it like that!”
“—Then it would only make sense for both of our plans to be changed!” Kaigaku finished, reaching the doorway. He turned back and shot another glare towards Tanjiro, pointing at him one last time with the hand not gripped around Zenitsu's wrist. “Stay away from Zenitsu, or you’re dead meat!” He threatened, making a slicing motion across his throat. He attempted to tug Zenitsu back, but not without the blonde making a promise of his own, clinging to the doorway before being dragged away.
“T-Tanjiro! I’ll call you when I get home, okay!?” He cried, an apologetic expression on his face. To his relief though, Tanjiro shot him his own bright smile, affection in his eyes.
“Okay! Get home safe! I love you!” Tanjiro declared, causing Kaigaku to nearly gag as he roughly tugged at Zenitsu’s hand.
“I love you—tOO!” Zenitsu cried, having finally been pried off the doorway by Kaigaku. He frowned and tried another attempt at struggling free from his brother’s grasp. “A-Aniki, at least let me—”
“You are not calling that Kamado kid.” Kaigaku hissed, shooting an intimidating glare towards the blonde. As Kaigaku dragged him along the corridors, Zenitsu found the smallest of reprieves how the school was almost empty now, so no one could see how he was being dragged home like-like some kind of unruly kid!
Seriously, this guy--!
Zenitsu's feet hurt! His hand hurt! EVERYTHING hurt!
The rain had already disappeared once Kaigaku and Zenitsu had stomped through the school gate- leaving behind a confused Daki and Gyutaro as, in their perspective, they were just ditched for the blonde crybaby! Zenitsu bade them both a brief apologetic look before Kaigaku dragged him away. Dragged him to the bus stop, then dragged him ALL the way home. The entire time Zenitsu had been complaining and whining and raving about how this wasn't FAIR and how STUPID this was; he only really shut up when Kaigaku barked back at him for how idiotic he is for his horrid taste in men. And how he had the NERVE to kiss at school, of all places--!
And Zenitsu could hear an underlying something in Kaigaku's sound, but frankly their bickering made him tune out the rest of the noise.
He wasn't given much else time to think though as, when they arrived at their home finally, Kaigaku had practically tossed him inside, letting go of his wrist with a disgruntled push. Zenitsu stumbled inside and whined, rubbing the sore skin and squinting his brown eyes at his brother. "Jerk, you didn't have to drag me all the way--"
"Jigoro!" Kaigaku called out to the air, stomping past Zenitsu and into the living room. He didn't even bother with tucking his shoes properly by the side, leaving Zenitsu to pick up after him and properly put their shoes against the wall by the engawa. "Jigoro--!"
"I hear you boy," Jigoro grumbled, sitting down by the couch and previously been busy watching television (Now muted thanks to his children's arrival), Zenitsu's fat bird by his side. "What's wrong with you two now? I thought you were both coming home later." Chuntaro chirped at the two's arrival, happily fluttering over to Zenitsu and whizzing past Kaigaku's head. Kaigaku didn't even bother with swatting the bird away, instead moving to supposedly snitch on his little brother.
Kaigaku jabbed a finger sharply at Zenitsu's direction, his other hand balled into an aggravated fist. "Your golden child is some- some floozy!" Truth be told, Kaigaku wanted to use a different word, but the last time he cursed in front of the old man he was forced to train until new callouses formed on his hands.
Zenitsu was about to open his mouth and retort something back to his older brother, but Jigoro's gasp and wide eyes beat him to it. "He broke up with Tanjiro?!"
"You KNEW!?"
"Of-- ugh, Aniki, move it!" Zenitsu hissed, sidestepping his brother to sit down by Jigoro's side, crossing his arms and leaning back against the couch. "Of course he knew! I tell Gramps everything--"
"How come I didn't know?!"
"Because I knew you'd act like this!" Zenitsu shouted back, uncrossing his arms and making a move to chuck one of their throw pillows at Kaigaku's face, ready to make it live up to it's name. "You--ow! Gramps, that hurt!"
A swift smack to Zenitsu's head was enough to make the prattling blonde quiet down, a pout forming on his lips. Jigoro tutted at him and wagged his finger at Zenitsu. "Respect your older brother! He's just worried about--"
"I'm not worried about him, I-I'm pissed!"
"Now boy, I know you're protective over Zenitsu--"
"I'm not protective either!" He swiped his arm in front of him in a wide but swift gesture, both Zenitsu and Jigoro looking unimpressed. "How come everyone knew but me?!"
Jigoro then turned to Zenitsu, raising a brow at his youngest. After a moment of looking like he wanted to argue back, Zenitsu huffed and turned to Kaigaku, gesturing to him with a crooked finger. "Because, yeah you're not protective, I know you'd never approve of Tanjiro. I wanted to date him, and--"
"Damn straight I'll never approve of Tanjiro!" Kaigaku growled, gritting his teeth. Just the idea of such an ugly goody-two-shoes with his younger br-- junior was enough to make his skin crawl. However, knowing fully well that he wouldn't stop seeing Tanjiro, Zenitsu pursed his lips and shot his brother an expectant glance.
"Okay, who would you approve for me then?"
"Wha--You're not dating anyone! Ever!" Kaigaku then glared openly at the blonde. "...You saying there are other people that want to date you?"
Zenitsu hung his head down and pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out an annoyed sigh as Jigoro merely turned on the television's volume again. Both ignoring how Kaigaku, very much unprotectively of course, continued to pester the blonde about his love life. Internally, Kaigaku also made sure to concoct several plans on how to make Kamado's life a living hell.
Good luck with that, I suppose.