Chapter 3

Reika, Kenji and a dishevelled Rei were sitting around the dining table once again that evening. Reika sat with her arms crossed, her expression cold and unreadable. Kenji, rigid as stone, stared at the table like it had personally betrayed him. And Rei—well, Rei slouched in his chair, looking like a man in mourning.

An unclean record. Being an assassin with an unclean record was not good. Not only would they be suspected, but Rei could probably not end up taking over the family business like they planned.

Arato walked in, hood up, barely sparing them a glance. Without ceremony, he dropped a pile of Rei's belongings onto the table.

Keys. Wallet. Phone. The shoes. Reika exhaled sharply. Kenji rubbed a hand down his face. But Rei—Rei's eyes lit up, his hands darting out like a man reclaiming a lost fortune.

"Oh, my babies—" he gasped, clutching his shoes to his chest. "I thought I'd never see you again."

No one responded. Kenji pressed his fingers to his temple like he was reconsidering his entire life.Arato pulled out a chair, plopped down, and stretched.

Now Rei seemed eager to talk. "Mom, Dad, I swear, I didn't do anything at the party, I literally just bought the car and went there to show it off for like a second." The two parents listened to their disappointment. "I didn't even get to show off the car, because I saw the stuff they were doing and immediately turned to leave. It wasn't my fault the cops showed up."

Kenji and Reika just stared at him. Of course they didn't believe their prone to gaslighting, spendthrift son. 

"Seriously, Mom, Dad. I have proof." He then proceeded to show them his texts and activity at the time. Kenji grabbed the phone and stared at one text in detail. 11:45. He had gotten a text about the party at 11:45 and on the police report, they had arrested them at 12:30. Surely they could argue this.

"Rei, where were you at the time you saw this message?" His father showed it to him.

"Driving from the dealership home."

"Is the penthouse far away? Is there anything to show that you didn't spend long at the party?"

"Um… I think I was posting pictures of my car until I got there." Kenji sighed in relief, and asked Rei for his last post. At 12:2 , he was still on the road, posting about some smoothie he had just bought. So he really was there for a few minutes. 

"I'll call the lawyer in the morning." He sighed a huge sigh of relief. 

Rei relaxed considerably. "So, am I still in trouble?"The silence stretched on, heavy with something unspoken but inevitable. Rei, still clutching his shoes like a lifeline, glanced between them, frowning. "Alright, just say it. Whatever you're thinking. Lecture me, punish me, ground me—" He rolled his wrist in a lazy circle. "Let's get this over with."

Reika exchanged a glance with Kenji. A decision was made.

"You," she said, slow and deliberate, "are still going to lose all your spending privileges."

Rei blinked. "What?"

Kenji leaned forward, elbows on the table, expression grim. "No more luxuries. No allowance. No credit cards. No bank cards. No more car."

Reika folded her hands together. "You will give up all your expensive clothes. You will budget. You will struggle."

Rei's lips parted slightly. It took a second for the words to process. "You're JOKING." He let out a half-hysterical laugh, looking around like surely, someone had to be on his side. "That's funny! That's hilarious! Oh my God, Mom, I thought you lost your sense of humor years ago—"

"We are serious." Kenji continued flatly. 

Rei's laugh died. He visibly paled and let out a strangled noise. "Please."

Arato, who had been watching with mild interest, finally leaned back in his chair. He seemed to enjoy this drama. Reika did not disappoint. "You have gone too far. Even going to a party at this time of the night?. We allowed you freedom and you decided to make horrid after horrid decisions, and this is the last straw."

"Do you even understand what you're saying?" Rei looked horrified, like she'd just suggested he perform open-heart surgery. "All my clothes are crazy expensive"

Kenji raised a hand, cutting him off. "Then you borrow Arato's until we get you new ones." Rei whipped around to his twin, betrayal written all over his face.

 "Arato!" Arato, slouched in his chair, didn't even blink. His social battery had been completely drained at the police station. He was done talking. Done engaging.

But his expression—oh, his expression was alive.

He was staring at Rei with the slow, satisfied enjoyment of a man watching a gourmet meal be prepared in front of him. Eyes half-lidded. A faint, amused smirk. Completely silent.

Rei shuddered. "Stop looking at me like that."

Arato didn't.

Rei turned back to Reika, panicked. "Mom, you can't do this. Mom. MOM. Those clothes are my identity—"

Reika ignored him, walking up the stairs towards their rooms. Kenji followed. Rei's entire life flashed before his eyes.

And then he broke.

"NOOOOO!" Rei dropped to his knees in front of the stairs. "YOU CAN'T! YOU CAN'T!" He threw his head back, wailing. "I'LL DIE! I'LL LITERALLY DIE!!"

Thud. Thud. Thud. Rei smacked his fists against the floor like a toddler. "THIS IS CHILD ABUSE! THIS IS WORSE THAN CHILD ABUSE! I'LL CALL SOCIAL SERVICES! I'LL—"

From his chair, Arato let out a single, deep exhale.Then, ever so slowly, he turned his chair towards Rei, stretched out his legs, crossed his arms, and watched Rei's tantrum with a look that could only be described as carnal amusement.

Rei caught the expression mid-scream and recoiled. "OH MY GOD, STOP—YOU'RE MAKING IT WEIRD!"

Arato didn't even blink.

Kenji and Reika returned with armfuls of expensive clothes.

Rei gasped. "NO, NOT THE LIMITED EDITION JACKET—"

Kenji tossed it in the box Reika had dragged along. 

Nagi had been having a great night. Deep in sleep, dreaming of things far more important than whatever nonsense his family was up to. Then—

"NOOOOOOOO!!!"

The shriek ripped through the house, rattling his soul. Nagi's eyes snapped open. He stared at the ceiling, dead inside. Another scream.

"MY BABIES! MY BEAUTIFUL BABIES! MOM, PLEASE, HAVE MERCY!!"

Nagi sat up blinking and processing.Then, like a man possessed, he staggered out of bed, dragging his blanket with him. Barefoot. Hair a mess. Face blank with exhaustion. He reached the top of the stairs, gripping the frame for support. He took in the scene.

Rei on his knees, wailing. Clothes being thrown into a box. Arato slouched in his chair, watching with disgusting enjoyment. Reika and Kenji working with military efficiency, showing no remorse.

Rei clawed at the air as Kenji confiscated a particularly expensive coat. "I'M YOUR SON! I'M YOUR FIRSTBORN! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!"

Kenji stuffed the coat in the bag without hesitation. Rei let out a fresh scream of agony. Nagi took one look at this absolute disaster of a situation. Then, without a word, he turned on his heel and walked straight back to bed.

Rei, mid-sob, whipped around. "OH SURE, JUST WALK AWAY, YOU LITTLE GREMLIN—"

His door slammed shut. Nagi flopped back into bed, yanking his blanket over his head. Sweet silence. For exactly two seconds. "I SWEAR TO GOD, I'LL BECOME A CRIMINAL! I'LL JOIN A GANG! I'LL—"

Nagi pressed his pillow over his face. Breathe. Just breathe. He'll tire himself out soon. "DON'T TOUCH THAT! THAT'S WORTH MORE THAN ARATO'S LIFE—" Nagi peeked out from under his blanket, eyes bloodshot. He was going to kill Rei himself.

More screams and dramatic wails came from the floor below. Nagi sat up, slow and stiff like a corpse reanimating. "OH GOD, NOT THE SHOES! ANYTHING BUT THE SHOES—" Nagi's eye twitched. He rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. Maybe suffocation was the better option. Hehad been trying to sleep. Trying so, so hard. After a while he ignored the scream and drifted off, but then Rei outdid himself.

"EXCUSE ME?!" Rei shrieked like a dying animal. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, MY PHONE?!" Nagi's eyes snapped open again. "LIVE A—YOU WANT ME TO BE A PEASANT?!" Rei gasped, scandalized. "A PHONELESS PEASANT?!" A scuffle. Rei screeching. Furniture creaking.

Nagi exhaled slowly. Then, with the dead eyes of a war veteran, he slid out of bed, grabbed his textbooks, and trudged to his desk. He sat down, cracked open a book, and started studying. Another yell. A thud. Rei's voice breaking.

"YOU'RE TAKING EVERYTHING FROM ME!!"

Nagi flipped a page. He was not sleeping tonight.

Downstairs, Rei's voice hit a particularly high-pitched wail of suffering and Arato's amusement took a turn. A physical turn. His smirk vanished and his eyes widened slightly in realization.

Then, as fast as humanly possible, he bolted out of his chair. Rei barely noticed, too busy clinging to his last luxury item. "THIS IS ABUSE! I'M GOING TO SUE ALL OF YOU—"

Kenji yanked the phone out of his grip. Rei collapsed like a widow in a soap opera.

Nagi, still at his desk, barely glanced up from his textbook as Arato stormed past his door. He blinked. Arato vanished into his room, slamming the door shut. Nagi stared at the door for a moment. He thought he could hear –. Nevermind. Then, very slowly, he turned back to his book. He cursed his good hearing. He really needed to get ear plugs.

Downstairs they were hearing the exact same sounds from Arato's room. Rei's punishment had paused and even Rei had stopped screaming. 

Kenji looked at Reika. "Should we…?"

Reika didn't look up. "No."

Kenji nodded. "Alright." Kenji had gotten Rei's fat wallet full of an unnecessary number of cards. Reika cleanly plucked the cards from Kenji's hand and cut them in half with a pair of scissors.

Rei shrieked like a banshee. Upstairs, the noises started again. No one addressed them.

The next morning came like a bad hangover. The Kurozawa family sat around the table, looking like ghosts of their former selves. No one spoke. No one had the energy.

A single box of generic, off-brand cereal sat in the middle of the table. The kind with a sad, bootleg cartoon mascot and a name like Happy O's or Crunchy Rings. It was Nagi's and Reika hadn't slept and didn't bother to cook. The milk tasted like it was questionably close to expiring.

Kenji sat at the head of the table, dead-eyed, stirring his cereal like he was contemplating every life decision that had led him here. Reika was next to him, staring blankly at the wall, as if she could manifest an escape from this miserable reality.

Nagi ate with mechanical, joyless movements, already looking half-asleep again. Arato was slumped over his bowl, hair a mess, hoodie up, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

And then there was Rei. Rei looked ghastly. Disheveled. Hollow-cheeked. Dressed in Arato's ill-fitting, depressing clothes. His cereal was untouched. He didn't even have the strength to throw a tantrum. He just sat there, staring at the table, a broken shell of a man.

Finally, after a long, painful silence, Rei whispered:

"…I can't live like this." No one responded. Nagi, without looking up, muttered, "Then don't." Rei made a tiny, pitiful noise and slumped further in his seat. The sound of sad cereal-eating continued.

The miserable breakfast ended in silence. Then came the real problem. Going to school. Rei stood at the door, arms crossed, refusing to move. He looked like a man on death row.

"I'M NOT GOING LIKE THIS." He gestured violently to himself. "LOOK AT ME. I LOOK LIKE A COMMONER. I LOOK LIKE A—A—A—"

"Can you just shut up for five minutes?" Nagi suggested, tired. Rei gasped like he'd been stabbed. "HOW DARE YOU." Arato, hoodie still up, rubbing his temples, muttered, "You're shaking the walls." Nagi was shocked Arato was saying something legible.

Rei turned on him. "OH, WHAT, YOU THINK YOU'RE SUFFERING? YOU DIDN'T LOSE EVERYTHING IN ONE NIGHT. MY STATUS, MY CLOTHES, MY CREDIT CARDS, MY PHONE, MY—"

Something snapped in Nagi's sleep-deprived brain. With zero hesitation, he lunged forward and grabbed Rei by the throat. The table turned and everyone's cereal fell to the ground. Nagi didn't stop and tightened his grip. Everyone froze until Rei made astrangled hrrkk sound, flailing his arms.

Kenji and Reika, sighing in unison, immediately stepped in. "Nagi, let him go." Reika's voice was tired. Nagi's grip tightened. "He won't shut up."

"WE KNOW." Kenji pried his hands off. "But you can't kill your brother." 

Rei collapsed dramatically, gasping for air. "He tried to murder me. I'm pressing charges."

Kenji hauled him up by the hoodie. "No, you're going to school." Reika grabbed Nagi by the arm and shoved both of them out the door. "You're both going," she said flatly. "And Nagi, you're grounded."

Nagi groaned. "I don't care." The door slammed shut behind them. The house was finally silent. Arato stood there, staring at the door. Kenji and Reika turned to Arato. He blinked. Reika sighed. "You too."

He pointed at himself in question.

Kenji grabbed him by the back of his hoodie and shoved him toward the door. "OUT." The door slammed shut. Now all three brothers stood outside. Rei looked like a wreck. He tugged at the oversized sleeves of Arato's hoodie. "I cannot believe you strangled me."

"I can." Nagi deadpanned, brushing himself off. "Frankly, I think you deserved it." 

Rei pointed at him. "You're a traitor." Nagi pulled Arato's arm. They started walking and left him there.