Ken and Hiro: Part 4 (Last).

The decision, however sudden it may have been, had been made. Akihiro would be transferred after the end of the year.

Worse, he couldn't even tell him about it.

"I hate these things," Kentaro grumbled for the tenth time the afternoon after his optician had already dropped by. "They tickle my nose. So annoying."

It'd turned out he was actually short-sighted. Before getting his glasses, although he could make out figures from afar, he couldn't really recognize them until they got up close. Except for his mom, Misa, Izumi, and Akihiro, of course, familiar faces he'd gotten used to. But, he had never had any issues with his vision all these years, having unconsciously believed his situation as normal.

Now, things were a whole different ball game. The world seemed clearer than ever, a bit mind-blowing. He kept playing with his sketchbook, reading the notes at the back. Still, he wasn't sold on the constant feeling of having those frames on his face.

"I used to think your handwriting sucked, but it's actually pretty decent now," Ken admitted grudgingly, tapping his glasses. "Think I'll get used to these?"

"You'll get used to them," the person beside him said.

"And you convinced the chairman to have that eye doctor come?"

"Mm."

"Did you have trouble?"

"Mm."

"But hey, it all worked out, right?" Ken flashed him the notes with a grin. "No more teasing your handwriting."

Akihiro glanced briefly at the book before he muttered another, "Mm."

"'Mm, mm, mm,' are you are robot?" Ken finally complained. "You've been acting weird since yesterday. It's creeping me out."

"I apologize."

Ken meant it as a joke, but seeing how seriously Akihiro took it, he felt a twinge of guilt. "Hey, come on, I was just messing around."

Kentaro, who'd come to deeply trust his teenage bodyguard, wasn't even allowed to know the truth of the situation. Akihiro smiled sadly at that, refusing to look at the younger as he responded with a, "That's alright."

Weird, he hasn't lashed out at me all day today, Ken thought, a little unnerved. He even remained calm when I made fun of his writing.

"Ah, that reminds me. We haven't had brunch today. Let's have a picnic," Ken commented, mainly curious to see what the response would be.

There was an uncharacteristic pause, and then, "Maybe you should eat indoors today, Young Master."

"Indoors?" Ken scrunched his face, crossing his arms in mock annoyance. "I hate eating inside with everyone watching."

"It wouldn't be proper for you to eat outside," Akihiro said simply.

"When has that ever been a problem?" Ken raised an eyebrow. "What's gotten into you today? You're all stiff and formal, it's boring. Is this a new game? You weren't like this when you first showed up."

"Then I'm sorry for my past behavior. It was wrong of me to—"

"Stop it," Ken was genuinely annoyed now. "This isn't fun anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"What are you doing?"

The older kid looked genuinely confused, "Do you not want me to apologize?"

"What are you apologizing for? Being yourself?" Ken was fed up.

Akihiro tried to keep up the act, but the words got stuck in his throat. He could feel his throat tightening, making it hard to respond right away.

"If I messed up, just say it," Ken suddenly said.

"… Huh?"

"You're acting weird, so I must've messed up, right?" Ken asked in a mumble. "Whatever it is, just tell me, and I'll say sorry properly."

"Young Master, you didn't—"

"Quit that!"

Akihiro paused, drew in a calming breath, before staring at the younger dead in the eyes. "I really don't understand what you mean, Young Ma—"

Ken decisively covered his ears and started yelling gibberish, effectively cutting off whatever Akihiro was about to say.

Realizing that they were grabbing a lot of unwanted attention, Akihiro grabbed at Ken's hands and pulled them from his ear, telling him, "Young Master, calm yourself. Please conduct yourself more properly!"

Ken stared at him blankly, eyes wide. He looked at his guardian—his confidant of the past years—like he didn't even recognize him.

Then, without a word, the eight-year-old turned and bolted.

Akihiro stood there dumbfounded for a good while, before finally remembering to chase after him.

*

Kentaro was never a good on his feet to begin with, and he still hadn't mastered the art of escaping and was thus caught after only running a short distance. The silver lining was that they managed to evade prying eyes.

"Stop this, Young Master, please," Akihiro urged.

Kentaro struggled stubbornly until exhaustion set in, causing him to slump to the ground once Akihiro loosened his grip. The boy looked quite pitiful in that state.

"Just leave me alone," he muttered.

Realizing Kentaro wasn't going anywhere, Akihiro knelt beside him, still holding onto the younger boy's wrist as he said quietly. "Come on, let's head back to the mansion."

But Kentaro suddenly snatched off his glasses, arm drawing back to toss them far away. Akihiro's reflexes were still quicker, right hand easily grabbing hold of Ginger's left wrist.

"What the heck are you doing?!"

"It's these stupid glasses that made you like this!" Ken yelled, "I hate them!"

Akihiro felt a pang in his chest at that. "I've always been like this," he replied weakly.

"Liar! What's wrong with you? Are you mad at me for something? Have I been too mean? I can change," the younger boy pleaded. "I promise."

Something had shifted in Akihiro from his usual open and fun self to this reserved, unfamiliar demeanor. Had the past years been a dream?

For over two years, Kentaro had seen the Estate as a place where two groups lived: the people he cared about, and the rest. Akihiro had always belonged to the former. That was how it was supposed to be. Within those walls, Kentaro only had him.

But now...

"Why are you acting like 'the rest' now?" Ken couldn't believe Akihiro's change. What had he done to deserve this treatment? "Why are you being like them??"

"Young Master, please watch your words," Hiro kept his gaze low, his voice barely above a whisper. "There is no 'them'."

"There's always been a 'them'. You even said—!"

"Then I apologize for that. If you want to punish me, then—" Akihiro's words were cut short when Ken suddenly sank his teeth into his arm, causing Akihiro to wince and stifle a pained cry.

Ken's bite was deep, drawing blood. Akihiro gritted his teeth, refusing to scream out. He let Ken vent his frustrations on him until the boy had his fill.

When released, Akihiro's arm burned. The kid really hadn't held back!

"Are you satisfied now?!" he managed, fighting the urge to collapse and scream for five minutes straight. "Feel better?"

However, Kentaro just stared down at the place he'd bitten, teeth marks and all. It was as if a dam burst just then, as the kid finally realized what he'd done and suddenly broke into bitter, pathetic tears. Akihiro's non-reaction to the scene unfolding only served to make the younger feel worse, as he finally understood that things had changed for the worse yet again, and right before his eyes.

First, it had been that kind grandpa who'd left after showing him kindness.

Then, he was torn from his mother to live with those who despised him.

Now, the one person he thought could be a real friend had seemingly turned against him.

What kind of karma was this?

He sobbed like he hadn't in a long time, realizing things wouldn't go back to how they were. He cried because he didn't understand what he'd done wrong, or why Akihiro, his first potential friend, had changed. Kentaro only regained some semblance of composure after what felt like an eternity, sitting with his face buried in his knees, head beginning to throb.

Safe to say he hadn't missed the feeling. At all. And he couldn't even go cry to his mother about it.

Akihiro watched in veiled dismay. His heart ached to comfort his dear family, but he couldn't risk it. Satoshi was observant, with eyes everywhere. Akihiro wasn't sure if the man was serious about his threat, so he restrained himself.

Ken still needed him, at least for the rest of the year. Even if the boy grew to despise him, Akihiro would remain by his side as long as he possibly could.

Currently though, if Kentaro continued like this, he'd end up sick. Akihiro prepared to say as much when the boy suddenly spoke up, cutting his intentions.

"Since that first day this year... have you always seen me as an assignment given to you by the chairman?"

Kentaro's voice was surprisingly calm and quiet, yet the question shattered Akihiro's heart. The older boy couldn't respond for a moment. His hands trembled—when did that start?—so he clenched them into fists, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Young Master…"

"Just answer, please." Kentaro still didn't look up. He sounded devastated nonetheless.

Akihiro closed his eyes and forced out, "... Yeah."

The younger boy stiffened momentarily, hands tightening protectively around himself, before breathing out a final, "Okay." Ken didn't spare the older boy a glance as he stood up, glasses gripped in his right fist, and turned to leave in the direction of the mansion.

Akihiro watched him go, silently wishing he would take back his words and explain to Kentaro about the real reasons behind his sudden change in character. But that was impossible for now. Satoshi Harada was a serious man. The chairman would be able to tell from a glance if the situation wasn't progressing the way he wanted.

There really was nothing he could do about this situation except accept it.

He kept his distance as he followed the younger, his feelings in turmoil.

Part of him wanted to tell Kentaro everything that had happened the day before. Ken was young, but he could understand. If Akihiro told him now, he would forgive him easily.

But that would only score him an earlier transfer to who-knew-where.

He had until the end of the year to hang out with his favorite little cousin. But the idea of leaving him so soon was tough to swallow.

When he first found out he'd be looking after his uncle's secret kid, he was pretty bitter. He had pictured dealing with some helpless, whiny brat who couldn't do a thing for himself, which hadn't made him very ecstatic.

Meeting Kentaro under a tree that year had been a pure coincidence.

At that time, he'd honestly thought it was some worker's child who'd fallen asleep outside and had the idea of pranking him by mistaking him for the youngest master of the Harada Mansion. He'd already performed a stunt like this a couple of times before, to his own enjoyment, why not do it again? Turns out fate had other plans and led him straight to his cousin.

Seeing the kid's puzzled face, Akihiro thought; Yep, definitely a wimp.

But then Kentaro threw him for a loop with his bold attitude.

And to top it off, Ken even called his own brother, the Chairman's legal heir, a pig!

At the time, Akihiro had nearly died laughing at the unexpected twist. Illegitimate kids at the mansion usually had this mix of fear and respect for the main family members. But Kentaro, despite looking so young, didn't hold back in telling Akihiro to buzz off and calling him a 'junior caretaker'. That kind of sass was rare in those parts.

Plus, Kentaro's open annoyance with Izuki Harada was a breath of fresh air. Akihiro couldn't wrap his head around how everyone put up with Izuki's attitude, but not everyone had his insider info.

Safe to say, that first encounter with Kentaro had turned out way better than Akihiro had expected. And that's probably why he quickly grew attached to his little cousin.

But things had completely changed now. At some point in the past, Akihiro had already dedicated himself to play the role of the older brother the kid probably wished for but unfortunately hadn't been given. The kind of person who'd be there for Kentaro when the mansion and all its inhabitants simply became too much.

And yet...

In the end Akihiro Kayame really hadn't been different from the rest of the Haradas.

Their relationship completely took a new turn after that confrontation.

*

Observers noted a significant decline in Ken's demeanor, turning him into a hardened, distant figure. Previously, he had displayed glimpses of warmth, but the new persona was icy and aloof. If it were before, Ken would have shed a tear or two when Akihiro suddenly left the Estate. But things had changed, hadn't they, so why waste his time?

Kentaro had shut himself off from everyone except those at the cottage, his true sanctuary.

As for the rest.... he really couldn't be bothered with anymore.

~~~~~~