fanfic; the first miracle; part 1

[acperience]

▶ Prologue

—

He sits under the shade of a tree, watching with a faint smile as Guriko and Walter play.

Walter’s face is as impassive as always, but he offers up no real resistance—a greater indicator of his feelings than his expression. It certainly wouldn’t be difficult to break free from Guriko’s grasp on his wrist, given that Guriko is more energetic than she is physically strong, and yet he doesn’t. He must know as well, that even if he isn’t enjoying himself, it’s worth it to see Guriko smile. She’s out of breath and more tired than a child her age should be after running for such a short time, but even so, there’s still a trace of a smile in her lips.

She’s happy. And so, the two of them are as well.

His eyes widen slightly as Guriko trips, falling into the flowerbed and almost bringing Walter down with her, though she fortunately lets go in time. He immediately stands from where he’s sitting and rushes over to her.

“Are you all right?” he asks. Guriko nods, and true enough, she doesn’t seem injured—but with her condition, he can never be too sure. Walter’s face, again, is devoid of emotion, but there’s tension in his hands as his fingers curl inwards.

“Guriko is fine,” Guriko says, though worry is clearly present in her expression as she looks back at the crushed flowers. “But Mother and Father will be angry…”

Wake up.

There’s resentment.

This, he knows.

But to whom?

If it’s his, then why doesn't he know that?

They need you.


“Wake up, Nato-nii!”

Slowly, Minato opens his eyes, before sitting up. Guriko stands just outside the shadow of the tree, hands on her hips. She leans forward slightly with an expression Minato knows is meant to be forceful but only finds cute. He knows better than to say that to her face, though.

“Guriko,” he says. “What time is it…?”

Guriko points a finger at him. “Four o’clock, sleepyhead! Nato-nii slept too much. Mother and Father will be coming home in two hours, remember?”

Minato nods. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to doze off. Don’t worry, though—that should be enough time for me to do my chores.”

“Don’t bother,” a new voice says, lacking Guriko’s enthusiasm and Minato’s gentleness. Minato and Guriko look over at Walter, who approaches them with a slight frown on his face, directed towards Minato. “I already did them.”

“Oh…” Minato begins, before his voice trails off. For a moment, he looks away, before gazing at Walter in the eyes. “Thank you. I’m sorry for the bother.”

It’s hardly the first time Minato has neglected his chores, and it’s not the first time Walter has done his work for him either. Minato doesn’t like it, but he knows Walter would do them even if Minato asked him not to. He has his reasons, after all, and Minato knows that they don’t have much to do with him.

“If you get in trouble, then we all do,” Walter states flatly.

And both he and Minato know all too well who would suffer the brunt of their parents’ anger.

“And if you’re so concerned about it,” Walter continues, “then maybe you should stop lazing around all the time.”

Minato can’t suppress a wince at that.

“Don’t be mean, Ter-nii,” Guriko butts in, frowning at Walter. Idly, she fiddles with the bandage plastered across her cheek. “It’s not Nato-nii’s fault. Guriko knows that he isn’t lazy.”

She shoots Minato a worried look. “Maybe he has what Guriko had…”

Guriko has more energy than she ever had years ago, and Minato is thankful for that. However, in return, it seems as if the world has taken Minato’s energy instead. It’s true, what she said—Minato doesn’t see himself as lazy. He certainly tries, he knows, but somehow, his body can never seem to cooperate. Through this, he can understand how Guriko must have felt before, possessing a body that refuses to keep up with one’s will.

Still, he shakes his head. Guriko had the excuse of being ill. Tired as Minato may be, he has a feeling that he doesn’t suffer from her sickness.

“I don’t think I’m sick,” he says. “Maybe I just have anemia. But Walter’s right—I need to do more work. Are there any chores that haven’t been done yet?”

“No,” Walter says, at the same time that Guriko says, “Yes.”

Minato blinks. Walter looks at Guriko, who simply leans forward and grabs Minato’s arm with both hands, before tugging him onto his feet. Vaguely, he’s pleased to note how strong her grip is now.

“Nato-nii has yet to fulfill his duty of entertaining Guriko,” Guriko says, her voice firm. “And Ter-nii is being a butthead, so he can’t do it.”

Minato merely smiles at the comment. He’s always known Guriko and Walter’s relationship to be somewhat vitriolic, but at the heart of it all, they’re still family. One wouldn’t know it just by looking at them, however, and not only because of their interactions. Walter’s blond hair and blue eyes are a stark contrast to Guriko’s black and red, respectively—the furthest thing from appearing related. It wouldn’t be inaccurate in that regard, after all, seeing as how they share no common blood. Guriko is almost the matching image of her mother, while Minato likes to think that he might resemble his father more. Walter looks like neither of them, for he isn’t their son by blood. Adopted or not, though, Walter is still their brother, forever and then.

Indeed, as Guriko was too young back then to even remember Walter’s adoption, it must seem as if he’s been present for her entire life. It feels that way to Minato, who sometimes forgets that Walter is his foster brother. Walter, just as Minato, grew up dealing with Guriko’s ill health—and he grew up dealing with their parents.

To Minato, Walter must feel some love towards them—or at least Guriko—if he hasn’t walked away from them yet. Minato knows that he has no affection for their parents, unlike Guriko, who has nothing but unconditional love for them.

As for Minato, his answer is always the same—he loves his family. All of them.

Fool.

“Say hi to Shirley for me,” Minato says, standing by the door as he looks at Walter, down by the bottom step. Walter gives him a glare.

“Lady Shirley,” he corrects.

“Sorry, I forgot. Say hi to Lady Shirley for me,” Minato says, no mockery in his voice. Walter seems satisfied enough with that, as he turns to walk away, his coat billowing out from behind him as the wind rushes past.

It’s seven o’clock now. Their parents have returned, with Minato having made sure to shoo Guriko to her room before they did. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to be in a bad mood when Minato greeted them, as they otherwise ignored his presence. Minato thanked Walter again afterwards, as the other boy made preparations to go out. It’s later than Walter usually leaves (and somehow, Minato doesn’t think the fact that Walter is typically out of the house before their parents’ return is a mere coincidence). However, as Walter curtly explained, Shirley—or Lady Shirley—wouldn’t be home until this time today.

Walter speaks of his employer with a certain reverence—or at least Walter’s brand of it—that extends beyond the fact that her family is responsible for his paycheck. Minato can see why, having met the girl a few times. She’s certainly pretty, with blonde hair and blue eyes like Walter’s, but more than that, Minato knows her to be kind. She doesn’t seem to always know how to handle Walter’s personality, for which Minato gives her his silent sympathy, but at least she tries. She makes Walter happy, in his own way. That’s enough for Minato, who knows that even though it’s supposed to be work, Walter likely prefers his time at Shirley’s house than he does in his own.

Minato watches as Walter walks down the path to the front gates. Even though he’s standing at his full height, there’s something from this distance that makes Walter’s back seem so small. Minato reminds himself that no matter how Walter acts, he’s still yet to reach adulthood. Also, that Walter wouldn’t be too happy to hear that thought.

A wave of nostalgia passes over Minato, even though he isn’t certain as to why. Love, fondness, a tinge of sadness of days gone by—

For a moment, it’s as if Minato were watching Walter through someone else’s eyes, as Walter approaches the gate.

He immediately snaps back to reality, however, when Walter stops—and then collapses onto the ground.

—

▶ Part 2