_Chapter 58-1~ Never Let Go_

"Don't 'welcome back' me!" my older brother bellowed, his booming voice practically shaking the entire house. In only a couple seconds, he had stomped towards me and yanked me off the couch, protectively standing in front of me with a glower aimed towards a stricken Satoru. "Why was this orange-haired delinquent all over you like that?"

My face was consumed with a new wave of colour. "H-he was not!"

"Yeah, right! It was even as dark as night in here!" my brother demanded, gesturing towards the light switch. "You're lucky I flew in today or else you two would've been making babies by the time Mom and Dad came home!"

"M-Masumi-nii— th-that's not...! It was just a kiss!" I hissed, embarrassed beyond compared.

"Kissing leads to a whole lot of things that shall not be named nor done on the couch of our household!"

"None of that was being done!" I said, grasping his arm and tugging it back. "You're over exaggerating!"

Masumi turned my way, incredulity masking upon his features. "Over— I am stating this as it is! Especially since... oh jeez, Reina, why are you dressed so revealing like that? No wonder that guy couldn't resist touching your fragile body!"

Automatically, I dropped my head to see my blue tank top and pyjama pants. I looked at my brother incredulously but he already had his face implanted into his hands. Prying his hands away, once more, Masumi had swerved Satoru's way, a murderous glower fixed in place.

"Who the heck are you, anyway?" he demanded. "Man up and confess your sinful thoughts about my sister or face hell!"

When both Masumi and my eyes shifted his way Satoru who was sitting as still as a board on the couch, sweatdropping, hesitantly picked up his head. His eyeballs darted left and right in clear panic. "U-um, I-I—"

I slipped past Masumi and stood in front of his field of vision. Well, tried to; he still had to rotate his head down. Regardless, my brother wasn't that tall of a person. "Leave Satoru alone!"

Masumi's frown deepened, a contrast to his charming smile that typically brought the most out of his olive-toned skin. "Satoru better not be his first name," he warned. He suddenly blanched. "Unless... Unless—holy shit." It seemed to hit him like a brick as his neck jerked towards me. "Holy shitting birds. Reina, is he your—"

I nodded vigorously, planting my feet firmly on the ground. "He's my—"

"My little sister does not have a boyfriend!" Masumi shouted before I could finish. He frenziedly removed his fedora and ran his fingers through his curly dark almond hair—a shade he'd received from Dad. Tucking his black shades into the collar of his t-shirt, bringing out the silver necklace he wore, my brother's burning eyes met mine. "No," he finalized with a firm head shake. "Not my little sister."

Satoru's complexion had lost all colour, but I didn't really blame him as to why. My brother was never this hostile against people he first met.

Gritting my teeth, I maintained my unfaltering poise against my brother's scowl. Still, how come I didn't anticipate this? My brother's overprotectiveness... All throughout our childhood he'd never let any boy approach me once—even if we were playing a simple game like kick the can. I'd always thought it was a tad hypocritical considering his womanizer ways, but as I kid I didn't really care much since I deemed boys to have cooties. And by the time I'd started gaining an interest in guys Masumi was already out of the house and a high school graduate.

"But you've never brought up a boyfriend whenever I talked to you on the phone!" Masumi went on, his mouth hanging open. "Since when did—"

"Stop freaking out already," I said. "And I haven't told you because you were too busy rambling about the girls in Sumato!"

"Don't use that tone on me, Reina," Masumi warned with a cocked brow. "You know those beauties are worthy of talking about."

"And so is Satoru!" I glared at him. "Jeez, just leave us alone!"

"So you can return to the baby making?" Masumi's incredulity made its appearance into his tone as his head whipped left and right. "Nu-uh!"

"N-no baby making was happening!" I protested in embarrassment. "W-we were just k-k-kissing!"

As if understanding we weren't going anywhere good with the argument, Satoru awkwardly rose up to his feet, snatching our focus. "U-um—"

              "No," Masumi interrupted. "I want to talk to Reina alone, right now. I think you should leave."

          My jaw plummeted as he held out his finger towards the doorway. "Masumi-nii!"

               Masumi didn't relent; only puffed up his cheeks as he sourly stared up at Satoru who easily towered over him then me. "You're in a lot of trouble young lady."

*     *               *

               "I've gathered you to discuss the rambunctious behaviour of your daughter."

                Even within the dimly lit kitchen at the time of 5 PM the tension in the room was as high as ever. Folding my arms across my chest, I peered over the opposite side of the table where both my parents were seated then towards Masumi who stood towards the centre. A dramatic planning board of paper was splayed out before him and he'd somehow also scrummaged up a pointer stick. He even changed into a formal suit and tie as if to pitch his idea.

                 "You better stop right there," I warned with a glare.

                 Masumi avoided my look, utterly indifferent. "I think they have the right to know."

                 "Know what?" I demanded, planting my hands onto the table. "You're making a fuss over nothing!"

                 Masumi didn't make a notion about that—being as stubborn as he always was. Biting the inside of my cheek, I darted my gaze onto the tabletop, bitterly crossing my arms once more.

                I didn't want to believe it would happen, but Masumi actually threw him out earlier leaving Satoru no choice but to amend. Ugh, why was my brother like this? How did he expect me to apologize to him later?

                "So, Masumi," Mom broke the silence, clearing her throat. "What exactly is this all...?"

                "Oh, I'll tell you, Mother," he said, adjusting his collar.

                 "Oh God," I groaned.

                 Ever so in need of theatrics, Masumi Kikuchi flipped over the large parchment paper, draping it over the back of the board. His pointer stick collapsed onto the numbers 11:43AM he'd written in big black letters. "When I came home today at exactly 11:43 AM," he began, flipping over to the next sheet where he'd illustrated two stickmen spread out on what was most likely a couch, multicoloured hearts stemming out and all around the page, "your daughter or my little sister was sucking face with an orange-haired delinquent!"

               Gasps consumed the room.

                "Sucking face?" I echoed, springing to my feet with a blush. "We were just—"

                My chair squeaked as I did but Masumi only frowned at me. "Reina, take your seat. I am speaking right now."

                 "I am calling an objection!" I reasoned.

                 He stuck out his tongue. "Sucks to be you. Objections cannot be called in my courtroom."

                 The urge to strangle him travelled all the way to my fingers. He was so dead to me.

                "Wow," Dad's voice attracted my focus. His head bobbed, twisting towards the unidentifiable scribbles Masumi had drawn. "They've gotten that far, huh?"

                 "Aww," Mom cooed—a suggestive smile in place. "Words must've not been enough."

                 Embarrassment succeeded in overwhelming me. On the other hand, Masumi flinched and gaped. "Aww? Mother, did you just aww at this madness? These two were alone! In this house! Sucking—"

                  "Our lips met!" I interjected.

                  "—faces! I am telling you the sucking of the faces did occur!" Masumi stabbed the pointer onto the board when he flipped to the next photo with another splurge of force. "And if I hadn't walked through those doors at 11:43 AM the baby making was going to go down on our own living room couch!"

                  This time, my parents were anything but elated.

                   "You're kidding." Mom gawked.

                   Even Dad sent me a stern look. "Reina, to that extreme is very inappropriate—"

                   "That did not happen!" I exclaimed before he could finish, withering in mortification. "We were just talking and our lips met and Masumi walked in right at that! It wasn't anything serious!"

                "So you two only got into the mood?" Mom pressed.

                "Dangerously into it," Masumi piped in with a disappointed hand over his mouth. "Did I mention all the lights were off?"

                 I lunged at him with my fists. "I am going to freakin' kill you—"

                  "Now, now," Dad cut in. "Let's settle down a bit shall we."

Giving my brother the dirtiest glare I could muster, I had to do all I could to resist the motion to flip him off. Masumi only returned an complacent smile as a result.

"Masumi," Mom eventually sighed. "I want to trust Reina since you tend to overstate everything all the time."

This wiped all traces of his smile.

"Besides, Reina is old enough to pursue a relationship and not have her older brother breathe down her back as soon as he returns to the city for a little visit," continued Dad.

I would've hugged the life out of him if I could. "Thank you!" I exploded, necessary relief rushing through me.

Masumi, on the other hand, had gone shell-shocked. "You guys are fine with this?"

Both my parents shared glance.

"Well, they are boyfriend and girlfriend so a little lip to lip contact is expected..." Mom trailed off.

Masumi had stumbled backwards, going so far as to hunch over. "B-b-boy... No! D-don't say that dreaded word."

"What word?" Dad inquired, perplexed. "Boyfriend?"

Masumi recoiled as if he had gotten shot. "N-no...!"

"What's the matter?" Mom innocently asked. "The Iwasaki's are such a nice family and even if he is a little rough around the edges, Saori's boy is such a gentleman. Reina's gotten herself a wonderful boyfriend."

Masumi's body jolted forward and backwards once again. He put his hand to his chest, hacking dramatically. "N-not my pure-hearted sister... Why? Why now?"

I rolled my eyes. In a flash, he raced towards me, grasping my shoulders.

"Who took you to that side while I was gone?"

My eyebrows furrowed together as I shrugged his hands off of me. "Says you," I scoffed, folding my arms. "Why does this affect you so much?"

"Because you're my little sister!"

Despite knowing he proclaimed that with good intentions I still wasn't able to accept them. My lips tilted downwards. "Just because I'm your little sister why can't I have romantic feelings for somebody when you get to kiss... and more than kiss girls all the time?"

"Because I'm a wolf!" Masumi shamelessly declared. His lips pursed as he whipped his head left and right. "And wolves like me should be shunned! But even I would never do anything to a sweet little cupcake like you! And whatever idiot does—"

"Stop it!" I snapped. The tone of my voice must have carried such a forceful punch that it had taken my older brother and mom and dad by surprise. I knew it originated from the fact that I hadn't wanted him talking about him that way. Not Satoru. He didn't know him. "I... I like him okay! And even if you don't approve, Masumi-nii, I'll still be with him!"

'Oh mys' left my parents mouths. Bashfulness weighed me down and my clear blush across my cheeks didn't help. Masumi's eyes flickered with sheer shock. He stared at me, stock-still for a couple moments, inclining the skin-crawling feeling rising up my arms.

"Gah, like. Soon it'll escalate to l-o-v-e..." Slipping his fingers down the slightest, Masumi studied my face for falsehood. When he found none, he sighed, "Listen, Reina, who is your older brother?

Quizzical, I blinked. "You, Masumi-nii."

"And besides our parents who've been taking care of us our entire lives, who has been teaching you right from wrong about the outside world since you were a toddler?"

"...You, Masumi-nii." I frowned. "But—"

"No butts, Reina," he said. "Not your butt, my butt or anyone else's butt you hear me? But if you care about that delinquent so much...."

My countenance brightened. "Then—"

                       "I didn't say anything yet," he responded, quenching my hope. Pausing, he tentatively continued, "So you two haven't... you know what yet have you?"

                       "Wh-what? N-no!" I shouted, flushing redder.

                        "Then keep it that way," he finalized with an extended index finger. "I don't want any of that until marriage! No, even after a safe amount of months after marriage can that boy be allowed to see your naked body. And you can't dare to tell me something like you don't know if it'll last until marriage. If you care about him this much and he somehow breaks your vast and precious heart before that point I swear I'll—"

                       "Satoru isn't like that! He... has no intentions of breaking my heart," I murmured, heart constricting as I went on. "In fact, after everything... he's only been healing it...."

                       Masumi was, once again, speechless. Eyes as wide as saucers, lips parted. He didn't know how to respond.

                       "Masumi," Mom softly called out from behind.

                       I chewed on my bottom lip as Masumi swivelled around and met my parents' gazes. They somehow transmitted a strong enough message to him because Masumi ended up bobbing his head in defeat. When he faced me once more, a tiny smile curved up the corners of his lips, catching me off guard.

                         "Sorry, lil' sis," he apologized, reaching out and dropping his hand onto the top of my head. "I just came home and started yelling at you didn't I? I embarrassed you, too. What kind of big brother am I, huh?"

                         Unable to muster a similar expression, I framed my attention to my feet. "A pretty lame one."

                         Masumi removed his hand and ventured towards the living room. After hearing slight clinks I was startled when he emerged again, my coat as well as his in hand. He pushed mine into my fingers right as I came to terms with what he was up to.

                          He nudged his head left, sincerity breaching his countenance as he proved my idea right. "How about you and I go for a little stroll?"