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A/N So sorry my computer crashed and life is getting in the way of finishing my other project, so please enjoy a cute little one-shot while I painstakingly re-do everything else. This story was originally written as a side-fic to a Ryou/Tak pairing project, but I'm a sucker for cute little itty bitty chibi Takahashi boys, and, let's face it: this fandom NEEDS more love! Of course I'm a sucker for grown up Takahashi boys too, and Takumi, and...well, you know, Initial D has a lot of hotboys. This is not Takahashi-cest, so lovers of slash, beware. So, please enjoy the chibi!

C

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Chibi no Takahashi (Little Takahashi[s])

Ryousuke sat across from his brother Keisuke at the kitchen table. Their Mother had just finished setting their dinner down on the lazy Susan, and now it was time to wait. Mother looked toward the front of the house, sighed a little, and took her place at one end of the small table. The three of them sat, and each were listening for the sounds that said Father was home to take the remaining empty chair.

Ryousuke looked over at the food, not really wanting to eat at all. He'd rather be upstairs reading instead of waiting for Father, but he was a good boy who, most of the time, did exactly as he was told to do. At nine years old, and with a Father like his, was there really any other option?

Sure there was. But then, that would make him his seven year old brother Keisuke, who had a knack for doing exactly the opposite of what their parents wanted. He glanced upward at his otouto who was eyeing the hot pot with a predatory glare. He looked like a kitten ready to pounce on a toy mouse or a small bird, his eyes shifting around, trying to calculate the probable success of what he was about to attempt.

Or maybe, he was simply hoping not to get slapped on the hand.

Keisuke made his move, and his small hand shot out and grasped the spoon in the nearest dish, hungrily grabbing with it for a morsel of meat.

"Keisuke!" their Mother snapped, slapping his hand, the spoon clattering noisily on the side of the dish, and the meat escaping back into the bowl.

"OW!" Keisuke shouted. Plan foiled. Again. 'When will he learn?' Ryousuke thought, returning his own gaze to the clock on the wall. Father was late as usual.

"Keisuke, you have to wait until Father gets home. Then, we eat. Now sit up!" their Mother scolded.

Keisuke slouched further in his chair in blatant opposition to Mother's admonition. Mother frowned, Ryousuke continued to quietly sit, and Keisuke scowled, crossing his arms tightly across his chest.

"I said, sit up! You're already in enough trouble as it is, Little One. I suggest you at least try and make it through dinner without making things worse for yourself!"

"I'd make it through dinner if I was allowed to eat!" Keisuke retorted. "I'm hungry, and I don't want to wait for him!"

Ryousuke watched the scene play out before him, similar to other such scenes he'd endured on several Friday evenings as they waited for their Father to join them for dinner. They used to eat in the dining room, but, since Father sometimes didn't make it, Mother had decided that there was no need to dress the table and prepare a big welcome for her busy husband too often anymore. For his part, Father never seemed to notice in what room they ate; it was all the same to him anyway, Ryousuke thought. He had to agree, too. If the point of eating was to stop feeling hungry, what did it matter how nice the table looked? Besides, by the time Father was ready to eat, the food was lukewarm and sticky, and Ryousuke wondered if he was the only one who wanted to lodge a complaint about that. Of course, he wouldn't dream of doing it, because Father was scary when he was angry, and it wasn't polite to insult food prepared for you by someone else. Besides, Ryousuke found he could do other things that he wasn't supposed to do, as long as he didn't bring too much attention to himself while doing them. Lodging complaints about cold Friday night dinners would not be very smart.

Mother slammed her hand down on the table and Ryousuke snapped his attention to the sound. Mother had a temper too, although it never seemed to surface when Father was home. "Keisuke, you will sit up, be quiet, and wait! Why can't you be more like your brother?"

Ryousuke shuddered. He hated it when their Mother said that, and he knew all to well what was coming next.

"Ryousuke-no-nii-chan is a butthead and I hate him!" Keisuke shouted across the table.

"Keisuke!" Mother scolded again, grabbing Keisuke by the ear and twisting the lobe until Keisuke had, sort of, sat up in his chair, his face contorted in pain the whole way up.

"OW!"

"You do not speak to your brother that way. Such language! Do you want me to have Father wash your mouth out with soap tonight too?" Keisuke was violently shaking his head "no", but, unfortunately for him, it looked like he was only succeeding in making things hurt more.

"I'm not a butthead," Ryousuke offered plainly, with the hope that his own foul mouth would make their Mother let Keisuke go, because it appeared that having your ear twisted really hurt. He didn't know, because it had never happened to him personally, but Keisuke looked like he was about to cry. His plan worked.

Mother let go of Keisuke's ear and placed her attention on her elder son with another frown. "Don't you start either, Ryousuke," she sternly admonished.

"Sorry, Mother."

Mother raised her hands to her head. Ryousuke wondered if she was going to have one of her headaches, the kind that only seemed to go away when she took her medicine and went to bed. "Just...be quiet. Both of you."

Ryousuke looked at Keisuke, and Keisuke stuck his tongue out at him. It was probably his way of thanking him for getting his ear back.

The three were quiet again, and Keisuke began to slouch once more. Ryousuke looked at the clock and Mother looked at her wristwatch. She took a breath. "Well, maybe I should call the hospital," she said to no one in particular. "Maybe your Father got held up unexpectedly."

She rose and headed toward the phone in the other room, leaving the boys alone with the untouched dinner. Keisuke saw his chance, and carefully, stealthily, reached for the spoon that had escaped him before.

"You really think you should do that, Keisuke?" Ryousuke asked.

"Shut up, butthead." He had the spoon in hand and was digging in the bowl.

Ryousuke reached and swung the lazy Susan away from him a little. "Hey!" Keisuke complained.

"Keisuke, put it back."

"Why? I'm hungry!"

"Shh. You'll get in trouble."

"I'm already in trouble," Keisuke began quietly, pouting, "so what does it matter anyway?"

Ryousuke suddenly felt badly for Keisuke; maybe he was being a butthead. They both knew tonight was not going to be a good night. Why did Keisuke always want to make things worse than they already were? Ryousuke didn't understand that. It was so much easier to be quiet and do what you were told. When you rarely got in trouble, no one expected you to do anything wrong, so, he had come to realize, when you did do things that you knew you shouldn't, you could get away with it. Why did Keisuke have to be so loud about everything? It only meant he never got away with anything. Of course, Keisuke did things Ryousuke wouldn't ever dare to do, like what he did today at school. Couldn't he be a little sneakier?

"You know, you shouldn't get in trouble at school, Keisuke. That's why Father yells at you." Ryousuke swung the lazy Susan back around. "If you keep getting caught, you will keep getting yelled at, and...worse."

"I can't help it. I hate school. I hate everybody there too."

Ryousuke sighed. He didn't like it when Father punished Keisuke, but that seemed to be the only thing Father ever did with his little brother. Their Father was a busy doctor, and he was so busy now that he only came home on weekends. Ryousuke spent plenty of time with him then, reciting the lessons he learned in school while his Father smoked cigarettes and drank sake. If he did well, Father would let him borrow one of his history books or science magazines, or even let him have a little extra allowance to spend at the convenience store. Ryousuke didn't spend too much on manga or candy like the other boys in his class; he had a much more lofty goal. What he didn't spend on magazines about cars and how they worked, he was saving for a computer of his very own because Father rarely let him borrow the one in the study. God, he wanted one of those! They looked cool and fun, and he loved playing around with the ones at school. He knew he wanted a car too, but that would have to wait a lot longer. At least, by his calculations, he'd have seven years, ten months, and two days before he figured he'd be done with driving school and ready to take the test for his license. It was plenty of time to decide which car he really wanted by reading the magazines and learning about every single make and model possible. Whatever he chose, he knew it would have to be fast. Really fast.

He looked at his otouto, and Keisuke seemed to be dreading what they both knew was coming once their Father came home and dinner was completed. Ryousuke hated to see his little brother upset, no matter how annoying he was, or how many times he called him a butthead. He could hear that his mother was trying several different numbers at the hospital, and, apparently, she was having no luck finding her tardy husband. Ryousuke looked at the clock again, and Father was indeed later than usual. Maybe he wasn't coming this time. Keisuke might be spared after all, and he might be spared from listening to his brother's cries when he got the belt to his rear end.

Keisuke rarely got a look from their Father unless he was in trouble, and Ryousuke thought that was wrong. School wasn't as easy for Keisuke as it was for him, but he did try sometimes. Unfortunately, it wasn't good enough for their Father, and their Mother simply went along. So Keisuke got his attention in other ways, especially when he was told to "be more like your brother"; that set him off like nothing else. Ryousuke sometimes wondered if it was partly his fault that Keisuke always misbehaved; maybe he took too much of their Father's time from Keisuke, but that was not really open for debate either. When Father asked you to recite lessons, you recited lessons. When he asked you to tell him about your week, you did. End of story.

Keisuke had the bowl in front of him again, the spoon was still in his hand, and a sad look was in his eyes. "My tummy hurts. Aren't you hungry, Nii-chan?"

"Not really. But," Ryousuke leaned forward to whisper, "if you're quiet, and have a spoonful now while Mom's out of the room, I'll pretend I don't see you do it."

Keisuke shot him a hopeful look. He swallowed hard. "You promise, Nii-chan?"

Ryousuke nodded. "Just make sure you don't make a mess, and put the spoon in the bowl before she gets back."

"You sure you won't tell on me?" Keisuke asked suspiciously.

"I won't, but only if you hurry up."

Ryousuke could see that his brother was carefully considering his options. Hunger won out, and Keisuke took a hearty spoonful and ate it, careful not to leave any evidence of his treachery on his face. He put the spoon back into the bowl, and Ryousuke turned the lazy Susan away from him again.

"Feel better?"

Keisuke swallowed his bite of food, nodding vigorously. "Thanks, Nii-chan," he sputtered, trying to make extra sure there was no sauce on his mouth by wiping it with his sleeve.

"You're welcome, Keisuke. Now be quiet, because I think Mom's coming back now."

"Okay," Keisuke whispered, sitting up straight in his chair for the first time since they were called to the table. "I guess you're not a butthead."

Ryousuke smiled a little. "I told you I wasn't."

Finally, he saw a smile on his brother's face, and that made Ryousuke feel happy. Unfortunately, it probably wouldn't last.

"Well, boys, Father should be home any minute now," Mother reported, returning to the kitchen and sitting back down in her chair. "They said he left a while ago."

Ryousuke nodded, and, as expected, the smile faded from Keisuke's face. True to their Mother's words, the sound of the garage door opening was heard a few moments later and Ryousuke saw Keisuke's expression grow anxious. Unfortunately, with Mother sitting there, he wasn't really able to say to his otouto that things would be okay. He knew it would be a lie anyway, though, so it was probably better just to be quiet.

The door which led from the garage into the kitchen opened, and their Father strode in without a word. He set his briefcase down on the counter and his lab coat on top of it.

He placed a swift kiss on their Mother's temple and took his place. "Sorry, Dear. I was detained."

Ryousuke looked at his mother. She only nodded in reply. Was something wrong? Ryousuke didn't really know.

Their Mother rose again, and took her husband's plate, and placed his dinner upon it. She sat back down. "All right, boys. Help yourselves."

Keisuke didn't need to be told twice as he reached for the spoon, having permission to eat finally granted. As their Father ate, and Ryousuke waited, their Mother spoke again. "We have some things we need to tell you...Dear one."

"Oh?" their Father responded, not looking up. "Like what?"

Keisuke started eating, not looking up from his plate. Ryousuke figured he wanted to get as much food down as possible before he'd be sent to his room where he would be made to wait, once again, for their Father. Ryousuke served himself a little lukewarm food and picked at it as their Mother responded between delicate bites of her own.

"Ryousuke had his geography exam this week." Apparently, the good news was coming first tonight, Ryousuke thought.

Father raised his head and took a drink of water. "Ah. Yes. How many marks did you receive, Ryousuke?"

Ryousuke put his chopsticks down and gave his Father his full attention. "Ninety-eight marks out of one hundred, Father."

His Father frowned slightly. "What question did you miss?" he asked.

"I confused the islands of Cypress and Crete in the Mediterranean Sea."

"Ah. Well, ninety-eight marks is certainly good enough. Geography is not the most important subject anyway. Well done," he said, the frown replaced by a half smile.

"Thank you, Father." The family ate in silence for a few minutes more.

"Dear, we do have another thing we should discuss," Mother began carefully.

Ryousuke wanted to interrupt, but he knew he shouldn't. He shot a look to Keisuke who was drinking his water and slouching again.

"What?"

Their mother took out a small piece of paper, placed it on the lazy Susan and turned it so that her husband could reach it. "What's this?" he asked with a tightening of his jaw.

"It's...a demerit from the principal."

He shot a glare to his younger son. "I assume this is your doing," he declared softly.

"Yes. Sir," Keisuke whispered. Ryousuke felt sick to his stomach, and it wasn't because of the food. Keisuke looked like he was shaking in his seat.

"I didn't hear you, Keisuke," their Father implored, raising his voice. He had a tone that was full of disgust, a tone he only reserved for his younger son. Again, Ryousuke wanted to say something, but he couldn't. Not now. Their Mother was calmly eating, as if she was trying to block the whole interaction between her youngest child and her husband out of her mind.

"Yes, Sir!" Keisuke shouted, his demeanor suddenly changing to defiance, as though he realized he already had nothing more to lose. Ryousuke stared at his brother, wondering how he could suddenly get so tough in the face of what was sure to be a very long night for him. He himself wouldn't shout like that to Father, not in a million years.

"You don't need to scream, Keisuke," Mother said quietly.

"He said he couldn't hear me!" Keisuke yelled again, in apparent confusion. First, he wasn't loud enough, then he was too loud. Ryousuke's little brother just couldn't win, and the sense of unfairness Ryousuke often felt when nights like these happened came back to him. This time Keisuke was quieted by their Father.

"Silence!" Father bellowed. Ryousuke continued to pick at his rice, stealing furtive glances toward his brother. He still had his defiant scowl, but Ryousuke saw that he was slowly moving his right hand up toward his face, his thumb threatening to enter his mouth. That was another thing he wasn't supposed to be doing anymore. Ryousuke hoped their Father wouldn't notice, because, if he did, that would be another few swats with the belt. Why can't he just sit on his hand? Maybe Keisuke didn't realize he was doing it at all. Ryousuke had never sucked his thumb, so he didn't know what possible use it could have. It only caused Keisuke's thumb to get wrinkly, and their mother to dip it in stuff that tasted awful so that when Keisuke sucked it again, he'd have a sour look on his face. But he still did it anyway, sometimes right in front of their mother, sour taste or not.

Father was reading the note from the principal. "So you punched a classmate?" he seethed to his younger son. "Unbelievable. Why would you do such a thing?" he demanded.

Keisuke, suddenly realizing where his right hand was and what it was threatening to do, put his thumb away. "He took my Robotech pencil," Keisuke answered quietly.

Ryousuke felt his jaw drop a little; he couldn't believe it. His brother got into a fistfight over a stolen pencil? Why bother? Couldn't he just use another one?

"A pencil," their Father repeated with disgust. "You struck another child over that?!"

"But it was my favorite! It was the one with the SDF-Macross spaceship on it! And he took it and broke it! So I wanted to break him!" Keisuke passionately pled his case, and Ryousuke felt sorry for him, and he also felt a little guilty that he had thought exactly the same thing that their angry Father had just said. But, who knew that a Robotech pencil was that big of a deal? Ryousuke did know that Keisuke was incredibly protective of his toys, and he always reacted strongly when he thought some harm might come to anything that was his. Even when relatives came by the house, Keisuke hid all of his toys in his closet, not wanting any cousin to play with them. He was especially afraid that their newborn baby cousin Tsugumi might drool or throw up on them. Ryousuke did have to agree that baby barf and drool were definitely gross, and he considered moving some of his own more precious things to safer places too when their Aunt visited. The baby was cute, but sometimes she certainly didn't smell that way.

"No son of mine will be involved in fights!" Father shouted, for the benefit of both of his boys. "Get upstairs. I'll deal with you later."

Keisuke slumped down, defiance gone again, and his hand threatening to release the forbidden thumb.

"I said, get upstairs! Now!"

Keisuke stood quietly, his eyes tearing up. "But it was my favorite. He shouldn't have taken it," he whispered.

"Keisuke!" Father warned.

"Yes, Sir!" he shouted, raking a hand across his face and running off for the stairs.

Ryousuke, as he continued to pick at his food, made a mental note to find out what an SDF-Macross spaceship pencil looked like. Obviously, it was terribly important to his otouto, important enough to get a beating over its defense. Ryousuke decided to look for one the next time he was at the stationery shop. Maybe his friend Shiko might know what the Macross spaceship was; he'd have to ask on Monday.

"Honestly, Sachiko," Father resumed, speaking to Mother after Keisuke had disappeared, "that son of yours will be a juvenile delinquent by the time he's ten."

Ryousuke looked at his mother and saw a slight twitch in her right eye. Wasn't Keisuke Father's son too? "He's your son too, Dear," she whispered.

Father scoffed. "I wonder how that happened," he quietly replied, but his tone was harsh, and Ryousuke saw his parents exchange a glance that said a bunch of silent things Ryousuke didn't understand. He might not have understood what was going on, but something told him he didn't like it one bit.

"Dear," Mother began tentatively, nodding her head slightly in Ryousuke's direction. Ryousuke wondered if he wasn't supposed to be there, or, if it was Keisuke that wasn't supposed to be there. He didn't know.

Father scoffed again and continued to eat. "Whatever," he said in response to the words Mother didn't say.

Ryousuke decided he had enough to eat, and he suddenly felt uncomfortable alone at the table with his parents. They were having some kind of silent argument, something that was definitely "grown-ups only" he supposed. He had a new car magazine waiting for him, and he had done his homework for Monday already so he could enjoy the weekend not worrying about it. "May I be excused?" he asked.

"You may not," Father curtly replied.

"Yes, Sir," Ryousuke said unhappily. It wasn't just the magazine. He really wanted to check on Keisuke before what was going to happen happened.

"If you're thinking about coming to the aid of that brat of a brother you have, put it out of your head. You don't need to concern yourself with that. My eldest son will wait for his parents to excuse him."

"Yes, Sir," he repeated. No sense trying his Father's patience; Keisuke had already stepped over that line. Ryousuke set his chopsticks down and put his hands in his lap. What else could he do? His Father knew exactly what he had been thinking. Keisuke was a brat; Ryousuke had called him one a million times. Why, then, did it sting so much when their Father called his otouto the very same thing? All he knew was that Keisuke, "that brat", was upset, and Ryousuke didn't like it.

"Dear," Mother began again.

"What?" Father snapped.

"Let him go."

Father sighed. He took a long look at his eldest son, and Ryousuke met his gaze. "Fine. You're excused."

"Thank you, Father," Ryousuke whispered and left the table.

He went upstairs and toward his brother's room. The door was open, and Keisuke was laying on his back over the side of his bed upside down, the top of his head resting on the floor. He had on only his underwear. Gross. "What are you doing, Keisuke? Where are your sleeping pants?"

"I'm waiting for the belt. He's only gonna take 'em off, so why put 'em on?" Keisuke replied quietly.

"Oh," Ryousuke said. That was some new information; no wonder his brother always cried out. He hadn't thought Father would whip Keisuke on his naked butt. "Ouch."

Keisuke sighed a little. "He's mean. And it hurts a lot, but I don't care. That kid deserved what he got," came the response. The words were a lot tougher than the voice that spoke them. Keisuke was scared, and he didn't want to show it in front of his big brother, Ryousuke guessed.

"Do you deserve what you're going to get?" Ryousuke asked his brother.

Keisuke gave him an odd look. "I guess so because I always mess up."

"Why do you 'always mess up', Keisuke?" Ryousuke asked, genuinely curious.

"I don't know. I get mad and stuff happens before I even know what I did."

Ryousuke heard movement downstairs. "I have to go to my room, Keisuke."

Keisuke closed his eyes. "Do you have to, Nii-chan?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I have to. I'm sorry."

Keisuke said nothing more, and Ryousuke walked down the hallway to his room and shut the door. He wondered, had he been a little more brave, and a little more stupid, if he might have offered to take the punishment for Keisuke. But, Keisuke broke the rules at school, so he did do something wrong. Ryousuke didn't think it warranted a beating, but that was Father's decision to make, and certainly not his. He changed into his sleeping clothes, brushed his teeth, and climbed into bed with his magazine. Eventually, he heard the heavy footsteps of their Father climbing the stairs, then walking toward Keisuke's room. Ryousuke focused hard on the article he was reading, trying to block out the sounds he knew he was about to hear.

It didn't work.

Ryousuke heard the stinging slaps of the belt and the sound of his brother's cries. He tried to read, but he could only count. Eight...nine...ten...eleven?! Keisuke was really getting it good, and Ryousuke felt his own eyes water as his brother's sobs and "I'm sorry"s reached his ears. Was it really so bad to punch someone who wrecked your stuff? Bad enough to get whipped...fourteen...fifteen...sixteen...times?

Sixteen thrashes with a belt before the heavy footsteps went back downstairs. Ryousuke could still hear his brother crying, but he dared not go in there now. Father told him not to help his brother, but Ryousuke didn't think that was the right thing to do. Shouldn't all big brothers help their little brothers? Unfortunately, all sons were supposed to obey their Fathers too. He didn't know what to do, but he knew he'd at least stay up until he couldn't hear Keisuke cry anymore. He'd read the magazine five times if that's what it would take.

Shortly, a light knock was heard on his door, and Mother came in.

"Lights out, Ryousuke," she said softly, coming over to the side of the bed.

"Keisuke's still crying, Mom."

"He'll stop," she said. "You need to get to bed. Good night." She kissed him on the forehead.

As she moved to turn off the lamp on the nightstand, she noticed the flashlight next to it with a frown. "And no flashlight reading, Ryousuke," she gently scolded. "You'll ruin your eyes doing that," she explained, picking up the small flashlight and putting it in her pocket before closing the light.

"Yes, Mother," Ryousuke said with a little smirk his mother couldn't see in the new darkness of his room.

"Okay. Good night."

"Good night."

Ryousuke heard Mother go to Keisuke's room, and the sobs stopped for a minute. Once she had gone back downstairs, however, Keisuke started up again. Ryousuke sighed and felt around under his bed until he found a small shoe box. He opened it in the dark and brought out the spare flashlight he kept hidden for nights just like these. 'Sorry, Mom. I've been waiting all week to read this magazine,' he thought as he flipped it on and ducked under the blankets to read in the dark, satisfied with his own cleverness. Having a decoy flashlight sitting in plain view on the nightstand was definitely a great plan.

Eventually, he had read the magazine cover to cover twice, and there was no more noise coming from down the hall. His eyes were feeling heavy, and he returned the flashlight to its secret hiding place. He fell asleep in moments.

At some point, Ryousuke became aware of a tugging on his arm.

"Ryousuke-no-nii-chan," Keisuke whispered. "Wake up, Nii-chan!"

Ryousuke opened one eye, groggy and half asleep. "Go away."

"I can't," Keisuke whispered. He sounded panicked.

"Why?" Ryousuke tiredly whispered back, slightly irritated.

"Because the monster is in my room again," Keisuke said, choking back a sob.

Ryousuke sighed and rubbed his eyes. "There isn't a monster in your room, Keisuke, because there is no such thing as monsters. Go back to bed."

"But, Nii-chan...can you...check?"

Ryousuke wasn't entirely surprised. It seemed the monster always came to Keisuke's room on the nights he got punished. The memories of the evening before came back to him as he struggled with wakefulness, and he decided that he should go and play monster hunter for a while. "Okay. Let me go to the toilet first."

Ryousuke didn't need to look to know that his brother was relieved. He staggered out of bed and made his way toward his bathroom, with Keisuke at his heels. "I can use the toilet by myself, Otouto," he grumbled.

"Sorry, Nii-chan."

Ryousuke exhaled and shut the door, a bit irritated that he knew Keisuke was waiting right outside. Once he was finished, he quickly washed and dried his hands. He opened the door and nearly bumped into Keisuke.

"I didn't want to be alone," Keisuke whispered as an apology.

"All right. Let's go."

Ryousuke walked down the hallway to Keisuke's room, his brother holding onto his t-shirt the whole way. He reached the door and flipped on the light, squinting at the brightness. He moved to step inside, but met with the resistance of Keisuke, who had frozen in place still holding onto the end of his big brother's shirt. "If you want me to check, you have to let go," he said soothingly. Keisuke was really scared; maybe he had a bad dream.

"O-okay," he stammered, and released his grasp.

Ryousuke went over to the closet and opened it. He looked under the bed and through a few drawers and Keisuke's overflowing toy chest. "There's no monster in your room. I checked."

"You didn't look under my desk," Keisuke pointed out.

Ryousuke frowned, but made his way over to the desk. "There's a bunch of junk under here, but no monster," he said quietly after a quick inspection. "It's safe to go to bed now."

"I have to go to the toilet."

Ryousuke yawned. "Well, go do that, then go to bed."

"Nii-chan..." Keisuke began.

"I don't want to go with you."

"Please?"

"Fine." Ryousuke gave in. He followed his little brother toward the hallway bathroom since Keisuke didn't have an adjoining bath in his bedroom like he did. He stopped at the door as Keisuke went inside and flipped on the light.

"Aren't you coming?" Keisuke implored nervously.

"I'm fine right here. You're not a baby, are you?"

Keisuke became indignant. "No. I'm not a baby."

"Good. Now do your thing and get back to bed so I can."

"Okay."

Keisuke closed the door, but only half way. Ryousuke couldn't help but chuckle a little. He decided that his otouto definitely had one heck of a nightmare, but Ryousuke had a limit as to how far he would go to make Keisuke get over it. There was no way he was going to hold his otouto's hand while he went to the toilet. No.

As he waited, however, he could hear his brother fiddling with his pants and he suddenly cried out a little. "Keisuke? Are you okay?" Ryousuke asked, now feeling concerned. Was something really wrong with him?

He heard another sob. "Y-yeah." Keisuke peed, and Ryousuke heard him stifle another whimper when he was finished and, presumably, began to fix his pants.

Against his better judgment, Ryousuke peeked around the door as Keisuke was pulling up his pants and underwear. What he saw shocked him. "Keisuke. Stop."

"What?"

Ryousuke came toward his brother, and grabbed the waistband of his pants and took a quick look at his brother's bum.

"Hey! What was that for? You're gross!" Keisuke almost shouted.

"Shh! You were the one who wanted me to come in here with you, didn‘t you?" Ryousuke hissed. Then, with a gentler whisper he added, "You're hurt."

"Duh."

Ryousuke frowned, and placed a hand on Keisuke's shoulder. "Is it always that bad?"

Keisuke looked at his feet before he nodded, tears streaking his cheeks.

Ryousuke exhaled, knowing what he saw was not normal punishment. Keisuke's backside was red and had blistering welts on it. Ryousuke didn't know what to do; Father had never punished him that way, so he had no idea why Keisuke deserved to be hurt like that. "Come on, I'll tuck you into bed."

"Don't tell anyone I'm a baby, Nii-chan," Keisuke whispered.

"You're not a baby, Keisuke," Ryousuke said, and he meant it. He didn't think he'd be able to hold up as well as Keisuke had. He knew he wouldn't be able to. What Father did was...wrong, and that simply did not compute. Why would Father do that? Ryousuke knew he had been angry, but, wasn't that a little overboard?

They re-entered Keisuke's room, and Keisuke got into bed.

"See you in the morning, Keisuke."

"Okay. Thanks, Nii-chan."

Ryousuke waved and turned off the light. The sight of his brother's injured skin stayed with him as he climbed into his own bed. He had fallen into a restless sleep when he felt another tug on his arm.

He looked over. "What is it, Keisuke?"

"I think the monster's back," Keisuke gasped.

Ryousuke sighed. "No, I already checked before, remember? There isn't a monster in your room."

As Ryousuke's eyes adjusted, he could see that Keisuke was trembling and crying. "Keisuke..."

"Ryousuke-no-nii-chan," he sobbed, "c-can I stay with you tonight? Please?"

Ryousuke frowned. "Why? You have your own bed."

"But the monster never comes into your room," Keisuke choked.

Ryousuke felt helpless. Of course the monster never came into his room. He got good grades, did as he was told, and was smart enough to be sneaky when he didn't. Keisuke didn't get good grades, never did as he was told, and was not sneaky at all about it. But, Keisuke was not a stupid kid, and he was one tough little brat. Ryousuke knew that now for sure. He may not totally understand why his brother did the things he did, but he knew that there had to be a reason. He was just too tired to try and figure it out.

"All right," he relented. Keisuke got under the covers with him and Ryousuke found that he wasn't annoyed when Keisuke curled up against him. He was still sobbing a little, and Ryousuke could feel his shirt become damp with his otouto's tears. He put his arm around him, and that seemed to help. He felt Keisuke move his right arm up. Ryousuke opened his eyes to see that Keisuke was desperately fighting with himself to keep from sucking his thumb. He didn't want his big brother to think he was a baby after all, and Ryousuke wondered if he was the bigger baby after what he had seen. He probably was.

"Go ahead," Ryousuke whispered to his otouto. "I'll pretend I don't see you do it."

Ryousuke heard a sigh of what he thought was relief escape his brother, and he saw the thumb go into his mouth. Not a minute later, Keisuke was still.

Ryousuke stayed awake until the light of pre-dawn crept in through the window, making sure that Keisuke slept well. He decided that, from now on, Keisuke needed at least one room in the house that was 100% monster free.

owari