"That's my idli! Get your own!"

"You snooze, you lose!"

"I'm telling you, I called all the dosa before dinner yesterday! So I get to eat them all! Hey, I'm not hogging!"

"Save some kebabs for the rest of us!"

"I want chocolate!"

"Oh my gosh, A'jali, you eat like a pig! You're getting slop all over me!"

Breakfast was the most hectic time of the day. In the morning, everyone was scrambling to get their things ready for work, for school, for whatever they had planned. Weekday or weekend, the morning had all of the children arguing, fighting, and doing whatever they could to drive their poor overworked father to absolute madness. However, at least on the weekdays, most of the children left for a handful of hours. Of course, that just meant he had to go to work as well, but it was better than staying to corral them all to make sure they didn't forget anything. For that, he was deeply appreciative of the older children. But not enough to help.

Morning tended to be the time when the younger siblings could see if one of their big brothers returned. Typically, Hotaka would sleep in the room provided to him by the Akiyama family, but, if he was going to come home, it would be in the morning. The moment he stepped foot in the door, all the little ones would try to tackle him to the ground. It was a game they liked to play; to see if they had gotten big enough to pin him to the ground. Of course, the only time they won was when he let them, but they didn't know that.

"O'tka!" one of them cheered, followed by the rest immediately glaring over at the door.

Most of them wasted no time trying to play their game, rushing over to him and treating his body like a jungle gym. Hanging off of his arms, tugging on his shirt, even stomping on his feet, he only gleamed. It was nice to see them again, even if he had only been gone for three days. Not having a full house was not something he could get used to, so working with the moderately quiet Akiyama family wasn't enough for him. Still, a job was a job.

Like most days, the purple-haired male flopped on the ground, claiming that they had "gotten him good". They then triumphed in his defeat, most of them returning to their seats. The only one that remained was the youngest of the family, a relatively new arrival. Nevertheless, he fit in great. Considering that he had become the clown of the family and took pride in it, he remained jumping on his big brother's chest while the others clapped their hands and laughed. Their elder sister rolled her eyes and dragged the youngest off of the sturdy male, but nonetheless found it amusing as well. How Hotaka could put up with the rough treatment of a kid with a smile on his face the whole time, she would never know.

"Welcome home," the male's mother hummed, giving a tired smile to him, "Staying for breakfast? Your brother's been cooking for an hour now."

"I would, and it smells amazing in here, but I've...actually got something planned."

"When don't you have something to do?" one of the little ones huffed, scarfing down whatever food he could get his hands on, "Everyone's always pulling you around."

"I wouldn't say that. It's nice to be needed."

"You're an idiot."

Their mother folded her hands over her chest and glared at the boy. She then remarked to him to "go get the duct tape". He frowned and apologized quietly, hoping to avoid punishment. Thankfully, she didn't follow up on it, likely more interest being put into one of her middle children's presence. As such, he sneakily grabbed another of what he was eating and munched, occasionally darting eyes over at his mother to make sure she didn't really want him to get the item.

"So? What's the plan?" one of the male's sisters, Basila, questioned, "School?"

"Work?" another commented.

"Clubs?"

"Work?"

"A case?"

"Work?"

"Volunteering?"

"...Work?"

The purple-haired male chuckled. He supposed he was a little predictable. If he wasn't at any of the above, he was probably sleeping or dead, or maybe a mixture of both. And though a lot of his friends and family claimed he was overworking himself, he didn't really feel that way. It was wholly satisfying to be doing something all the time. If not, he felt like he would feel the need to start doing something. And, most of the time, that would be some kind of work. Occasionally, he went out drinking with his school friends, but it was never often and he almost never got completely drunk. Even then, he would always be the moral compass for the group.

"No," he blushed, rubbing the back of his head, "Actually, I'm doing something really fun today. I've been looking forward to it since last night."

"Yah, noticed the outfit," Nahkii, the eldest, scoffed with a grin, "Really? Earrings? Loose jacket?"

"I - I thought it was cool...Should I...well, change?"

"Don't listen to her," the male's father instructed, shooting a warning glare to his daughter, "You look nice."

"Wait, stop! No more! You're not gonna eat?" Rahul frowned, gazing at all of his hard work like it had gone to complete waste, "After I slaved over a hot stove for an hour? You're just gonna leave like that?"

"You didn't even know he was coming!"

"B-But now that I know - my heart!"

Standing up with a flame for the dramatics, Nahkii stormed over to the kitchen and picked up a power-bar, throwing it nearly eighty miles per hour at the younger male's face. Giving a thumbs up to Rahul, she received a look of exaltation from the boy that believed she was doing it for his sake. Of course, in truth, she had only done it to do it, but if she could make an excuse for why she did it, there was no reason why not to. She then pointed her index finger at the purple-haired male and took in a deep breath.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!" she declared, earning a look of annoyance from the children.

"B-But it was me that was scorned..."

"Shush, beautiful. Ahem! You refuse to eat the carefully crafted masterpiece made by your own brother? Shame, you bastard!"

Almost immediately, the younger siblings had smirks on their faces. They pushed one another, knowing very well what would happen next and snickered so much their chairs vibrated. Despite the air of confidence their elder sister had, even (forcibly) petting Rahul like a scared chipmunk and squeezing his cheeks, their father had another look on his face. Turning his head slowly, he snapped his fingers together, the younger siblings getting excited about the turn of events.

"Nahkii, duct tape."

Freezing for just a moment, the girl had a glossed-over look in her eyes as if she didn't foresee such an outcome. Nevertheless, she recovered quickly, giving precisely two pats to Rahul's head before marching away to get the requested item. Within a few moments, she returned, presenting the roll to the co-head of the household. The man then tore off a generous strip of the stuff while the girl proudly displayed her bare leg, pulling her socks down.

It was then that he applied it to her, firmly pressing down on it to make sure there was no part that wasn't in contact with her skin. He then, very quickly, snatched it off of her, taking all of the hair that had been there. The younger kids all crowded around the couch, peeking their little heads over it to see it, all giggling together like a band of hyenas. And though Nahkii flinched for a moment, she, as always, quickly recovered and ran her finger down the single strand that had been waxed away.

"Smooth as a baby's freshly sandpapered asscheeks," she nodded, motioning to her other leg, "Well, pops, how 'bout the rest of it?"

He paused for a moment, the kids alternating between looking at him and their sister. There was no telling how she would be punished for that comment. Granted, most of them were very scared of the duct tape punishment so they behaved as much as possible. As such, they wouldn't know that anyone had the guts to speak back to their parents after they finished their punishment. However, as their father opened his mouth to speak, they held their breaths batedly in absolute astonishment.

"Nahkii," he repeated, seemingly unaffected by her comment.

"Need some wax for it, pops?"

"Go get the soap."

The kids all burst out into laughter. Nahkii was thoroughly defeated, beginning to resort to childish remarks as to why she had to be punished when she was a legal adult. Of course, the proper retort was that she was under someone else's roof and that she should get her own place. To that, she had nothing else to say, and, instead, carried out the additional punishment with no more comments.

"Well, O'tka?" Rahul sniffled, "What's so important you can't eat breakfast with us?"

"I...Well, I'm meeting someone today. We're going to go over class and...have coffee, I guess. I-I don't really know what the plan is, but it'll be fun, I know that! A-Anyway, I should grab some things and get going. I'll come back for dinner! Promise!"

Rushing upstairs, the purple-haired male left everyone shrugging at each other. They didn't really know what that meant. Of course, if he had been, in any part, normal, it might have insinuated a date, but it was Hotaka. He had never taken an interest in a single human being, let alone a girl he wanted to form a romantic attachment with. He was always going out to do things with friends or schoolmates, so that time didn't seem any different to them.

However, Nahkii thought differently. Coughing soup bubbles, she recounted the taste of "Ocean Breeze" on her tongue. Smacking her lips, she narrowed her eyes at her younger brother running up the stairs with a certain frolicking nature. Thinking quietly to herself, she snuck out as well, placing sunglasses over her eyes to make herself even more suspicious in nature as she stalked him. It was certainly annoying to have to run all the way there, and at the natural pace Hotaka had, she felt like dying, even if it was winter.

When they had arrived at the cafe, she watched as he took his sweet time finding the best table. He seemed especially concerned about the choice between a booth and a normal table but eventually settled for a booth in shade next to the windows. The purple-haired male then spent his time staring at his phone as if he was waiting for something. Amazingly, his interest and excitement in the device didn't seem to fade no matter how much time faded. Only when he heard the bell of the cafe, signaling the door had opened, did he look up from his phone, becoming thrilled before slumping over in disappointment.

It was then that Nahkii nearly had a heart attack. A limousine had pulled up to the front of the cafe, startling her greatly. She watched as an aged ginger-haired man stepped out before opening the door for whatever celebrity sat inside. To her surprise, it was not someone she recognized. Rather, it was a girl, neatly but not elaborately dressed who came out. She took a while to talk to the man, bowing to him before he reciprocated with haste. The entire interaction struck her as odd, but when the young lady entered the shop and made a bee-line for her younger brother, she knew. She then moved inside to overhear their conversation.

"I'm so sorry," the younger girl sighed, "I swear I left thirty minutes ago, but traffic was so bad today. I should've expected people would want to go out and have fun on a weekend."

"No, it's alright! I just got here, too, so, no worries!"

What a liar, Nahkii thought. She, like many others, knew that the purple-haired male was about as good at telling lies as he was at murdering people. It went against his own set of moral expectations, so hearing him say something like that made her lift an eyebrow. Now, why would he want to lie about that, in particular? She chuckled sinisterly as she tented her fingers, continuing to eavesdrop like a real spy.

"Sh-Should we maybe order now? It's my treat, so feel free to order anything you like. I recommend their hot chocolate. They make it really special for this season in particular so if you'd like it, get it. It's my treat, okay?"

"But it should be me paying. You're the one giving up your time to help me get caught up."

"I'm not short on money."

"That's not the point," the (h/c) haired girl chuckled, prompting the male to melt at the sound, "I'd like to thank you. You won't let my sincerity go to waste, will you?"

Hotaka covered his face with his hand, unable to refuse her. Even though he wanted to be a gentleman and pay for it, he understood her want to repay him. Although, if he was being perfectly honest with himself - which he was not - he would have preferred a hug. Groaning under his breath, he let go of his need to pay. Granted, he very much wanted to encourage her spending time with him, but it was more important to him that she feel comfortable doing so. As such, the two of them ordered.

He all but held his breath as she thoroughly enjoyed the drink he suggested. Even as his sister gawked at him, continuing to spy discreetly, it was obvious how deep he had fallen. It was like he wanted nothing else than to hold her tightly and never let her go. His inexperience didn't go unnoticed by (Y/n) either, but she chose to ignore his longing for the time being. It would only have impacted him negatively anyway. Furthermore, considering how much of his personal time was being invested in other people, she didn't want to take away even more from him.

"We have midterms coming up next week, don't we?" she questioned, receiving a delayed nod, "Then, what did the professor say to go over? I've been reading the textbook, but it was a lot to take in, so if I can narrow down what I should study, it would help."

"Oh, right...I think he said...Um..."

The purple-haired male went on stuttering, becoming progressively more nervous about his inability to recall. Usually, his memory was incredible. He just needed to hear or see something once, and he would be able to act accordingly, courtesy of his work in investigative studies. However, for some reason, he was unable to think of anything. It was not that he had forgotten. Rather, it was more like he couldn't focus on bringing it to the forefront of his mind because something (someone) else was there.

"I'm sorry, give me a moment," he blushed, digging through his bookbag to grab his notes.

Fumbling further, he finally stumbled upon the necessary information. Though awkward at first, he gained his confidence, returning to his calm self. She wrote down everything he said, taking her absences very seriously. Granted, she picked up the material very quickly which made him a bit confused over her panic. She could be gone for a month and he still believed she would have no problem earning a good grade. Then again, she was stubborn like that, and there wasn't any way he could change it. That was for the best though.

"So these chapters are the most important," she mumbled quietly to herself, focusing wholly on the textbook in front of her, "Then I don't need to worry about vocab."

The more she focused, the more conflicted the purple-haired male was about it. Unconsciously biting his lip, he tilted his head, resting it on the table with a sigh. Obviously, the whole point of their meeting up was for her to focus on her studies, but he wanted very much for her to only pay attention to him. And yet, on the other hand, she was so completely attractive when she was in study mode. He smiled, nuzzling into his sleeves to become more comfortable while he watched her annotate the textbook.

"Hey, Hotaka," she paused, giving a confused look, "Do you know what this means? I was kind of stuck on it when I was looking at it by myself."

Perking his head up immediately, the male panicked when he nearly knocked over his drink in his excitement. Thankfully, he was able to catch it with his quick reflexes, but his embarrassment remained. This much was true even as the younger girl chuckled at him. He reached for her textbook and gave a shy smile, wondering where all of his spacial awareness had gone.

"Oh, yeah, this is just a fancy way of saying that a person is considered a citizen of Afrua if they have certain traits. Obviously, if you were born here, you're a citizen. Another one is if you immigrate here and file to be one, but it's kind of tricky. A third one is if you own a certain amount of property here and make at least 200,000 sich a year. The property has to be larger than 3,000 square feet."

"Then, the last one the book says - "

"We used to have that, but it went out of effect a decade ago. What it means is that, if you officially file in any country to be religiously affiliated with Sajisha, you're a citizen of Afrua. That was the majority religion of Afrua. Ah, well, technically, it still is, but when Athainians started coming here, even though they're the minority in terms of numbers, they got a bigger say in it."

"Interesting..."

Hotaka shrugged. He didn't say anything further about it, clearly a subject he didn't very much enjoy. It was clear why that was, but, regardless, she found herself bewildered. Money seemed to be the thing that gave people power in any country, but it seemed especially bad in Afrua. Historically, there was evidence for it as well, though, from what she had learned from Sitri and the textbook, it was considered modern history.

"For understanding's sake, could you share what Sajisha is? The book doesn't say anything about it. It might have been in the lecture, but - "

"It wouldn't have been in either. It's not...important."

The purple-haired male averted his eyes from her form, something he had only done to look at the book. He narrowed his eyes and became eerily silent, something that was not like him at all. Usually, he would smile so beautifully, but there was no sight of the thing. It made her feel self-conscious as well, particularly because she felt like she had to say something. But what could she say? Sorry that people are bad? Sorry you're thought of like a minority even though this is your country? Sorry I'm from the same nationality as the people that think of you as lesser than?

Nahkii found herself silent as well despite her vested interest in the two's conversation until then. Granted, the subject always found itself lodging a block in her younger brother's throat. For however much he loved people, it was always so difficult for him to put a smile on for them when he was constantly met with hatred. Although the two of them went through the same thing, being native-born Afruans trying to achieve respected and well-paid positions in an Athainian-run society, at least she could be a bitch. For all she cared, they could have cursed her behind her back, but at least they were silent in front of her. He, on the other hand, resorted to kindness in hope that, one day, it might thaw their hearts.

For this reason, though he took a different stance on it, she had always believed that people were born evil; that greed and gluttony festered in their hearts since the day they were born. She attributed this especially to the rich Athanians that came to Afrua for cheap labor and unearned privilege. And because (Y/n) was one of them as well, Nahkii could only watch to see what kind of person she was through how she treated the angel she called her brother. To her credit, she kept as much of an open heart as she could, but she was still fully prepared to beat the hell out of the girl.

The younger girl stared at the male with a hole in her heart. She felt it weighing her down, her guilt immense. For a while, she sat motionlessly, the atmosphere between them desolate as if they weren't there at all. And yet, she found herself reaching to cautiously grab the male's hand. Feeling him flinch, she quickly moved to comfort him, stroking her thumb against the back of his hand. She then guided him to stand up and sit beside her instead of across from her, putting a pen in their hands.

She began to scribble all over her textbook with the unerasable ink, covering anything and everything that had to do with Athainian influence. And when she peeked over at Hotaka, she smirked mischievously at his shocked expression. He did try to stop her, telling her she would need it to study, but it didn't matter. She continued to cross it all out before putting her pen down with a nearly black page.

"Why don't you teach me instead?" the girl questioned as she passed him her notebook, watching him get choked up, "We can start with Sajisha."

"I told you, it's not going to be on any test, so you should spend your time - "

"I want to spend my time learning about you, Hotaka. You'll let me, won't you?"

The male's lip began to tremble for quite some time before he finally exploded in tears. He put up a valiant fight, sucking in his breath in an attempt to control it and covering his mouth to hide it, but, in the end, he rested his head on her shoulder and put his arms around her. Hugging her with all of his might, he sobbed. It was ugly and it was loud, but it was him, so she was glad to see it. She pet the back of his head, lulling him to peace like he was a child, but he was so grateful.

"So, will you teach me or not, Hotaka?"

"...s...ka."

"What did you say? I can't hear you through your ugly crying," she huffed playfully, hitting his shoulder gently.

"My name is actually...O'tka," the male confessed, nuzzling further in her shoulder.

"Then, do you want me to call you that?"

"...No. I just...want you to know it."

Hotaka took the next handful of minutes to recover, not knowing that he was trying to stall for more time being so close to her. It was immensely peaceful in her arms and, for some reason, he felt like nothing could hurt him as long as he touched her like that. Of course, eventually, he stood up, hiding his face, and excused himself to the bathroom. After all the effort he had put in to look nice, his face was now completely smeared with his tears and his eyes were all puffy. He flared red.

Not too long after he left for the bathroom to fix himself up, a waiter came around and placed two desserts on the table. Although the (h/c) haired girl denied having ordered it, she was told that a young woman paid for the sweets to be given to them. But when she asked who, the woman had already mysteriously left. It was even stranger when Hotaka returned with shining eyes.

"How did you know my favorites?" he blushed, returning to sit next to the girl instead of across from her at his seat, "It's a bit...embarrassing."

"Oh, I actually - ," she paused, thinking a while before giving the male a bright smile, "Someone just wanted you to cheer up, I guess."