L.

The tea's gone Mad

Chapter 17 Aftermath

After a few weeks, Kaoru and I now lived together in our own little apartment. Thanks to an old friend of ours, Tamaki Suoh.

He suspected about our situation but opted to keep his mouth shut until he figured we needed him.

Which I personally appreciated.

Being the nice guy that he is he paid for everything for us; claiming that it's what a gentleman must do when his friends are in trouble.

He's paying for this apartment.

Our lawyer.

And just about everything else.

I'm positive that it's thanks to his good word and help that we haven't been mobbed by the public yet. He's helping us to keep face while all of the investigations are being done.

I stared down at the teapot shinning on the kitchen table, my reflection smiling back at me.

Which was odd because I wasn't smiling at all.

I shook my head and closed my eyes.

He knows the full story yet he doesn't hold us one bit responsible.

He says he'll stay by our side till the end. And if need be, he'll help us get out of whatever the end result is.

Even if that means us leaving the country once again.

I sighed and walked over to the kitchen window.

We were back in Japan, but it wasn't as comfortable as I had once dreamed it would be.

It was evening, and the streets below were bustling with people of all ages.

Mothers with their children, teenagers walking with their friends, men with briefcases going who knows where. They were all living their lives, their normal, uneventful, mindless lives.

I turned away from the ordinary scene and stared at the simple, bare kitchen. We had a small table in the middle of it all, a refrigerator connected onto the counter, a microwave above the cramped stove; it was all standard, yet to me, it looked depressing.

We haven't seen Mother or Father since England.

Mother finally got the help she needed thanks to the authorities.

And me.

Every month I receive a postcard from her from the mental hospital, asking me to come have tea with her.

I keep toying with the idea of visiting, but then I think of all the times she's hurt me and I decide against it.

Maybe one day I'll visit her.

She is my mother after all.

And Father?

He's still in England, sitting in a jail thanks to some misidentification.

They told us it'd take some time before our parents belongings can be released to us.

But honestly?

I'm not sure I want them.

It's bad enough the Hitachiin name is now completely trashed and we have private and company lawsuits up our ass till we lie in our graves but to have to handle all of their affairs as well?

It was too much.

When the property rights are finally released to us, I'm planning on selling them.

Though I really shouldn't be complaining.

This is significantly better than sleeping with one eye open.

No more looking over my shoulder when I go out with Kaoru.

No more double and triple checking the window locks.

No more Father.

No more Mother.

For now, all we can do its grit our teeth and hope for the best.

I pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and sat down.

I hope that when things clear up, Kaoru and I can go back to England and live there.

I began to fiddle with the salt and sugar containers.

In hindsight, things were pretty good over there.

We had jobs, a nice, quiet life, and I miss that old man.

I just want to live in peace with my brother.

Is that too much to ask?

I sighed and ran a hand though my hair and stared back at my reflection in the window.

And for a split second, I thought I saw it stand up, though I was sitting absolutely still.

I shook my head and rubbed the palms of my hands into my eyes.

I was tired.

Behind me I heard the front door open and Kaoru come in.

"Hey Hikaru." He greeted.

I turned and smiled at him.

He went food shopping.

"Hey." I smiled and watched as he walked into the kitchen.

"You want some tea before I start reading?"

I nodded, a smile on my face.

He was really into reading these days, ever since Father had been put in jail and the authorities have been checking in on us.

To be safe they said we should lay low for awhile until things were completely sorted out, which was fine with me, I didn't want to risk anything when freedom was so close.

"So how was shopping?"

He shrugged and pulled a box of ready-made tea out of the bag. "Easy."

I nodded and watched as he went about boiling the water.

He seemed normal.

Nothing fazed him.

The only thing that changed was his new love of reading.

Is that something to be concerned about?

I drummed my fingers on the table top.

"While I was out I picked you up some ham." He grinned as he pulled deli sliced ham out of the bag. "It's supposed to taste really good in sandwiches. I was thinking maybe later we'd try it. What'd you think?" He raised an eyebrow at me in expectation.

I nodded. "Sounds good."

Our relationship hasn't changed.

Except for the fact that I now feel at ease about him going out by himself.

We still sleep together, eat together, and do just about everything else together.

We're only ever apart for about an hour, and that's when he goes food shopping.

Because honestly I hate it.

It's boring.

Plus I never know what to buy.

"Here's your tea Hikaru." Kaoru smiled warmly at me as he placed the large mug in my hand. "I'm going to the study okay?"

I nodded and watched as he walked away.

Then stood up and followed him.

I leaned in the doorway and watched as he settled down behind the desk. The room was warm and dimly lighted, but it wasn't creepy.

In fact it was soothing.

The entire apartment now had that feeling.

That warm, calming, nothing can ever go wrong sort of feeling.

But why wasn't it that way when it was just me?

I frowned.

Was something wrong with Kaoru?

Does he have a problem?

Is he the same as Mother?

I sipped my tea as I stared at Kaoru sitting in the study.

Was he indeed mad?

Or was I just the pot calling the kettle black?

I shook my head and stared down at my reflection in the tea.

Perhaps, I was the one who was insane after all.

And then, my reflection nodded at me, answering my unspoken question.

The tea's gone Mad ~ End

The tea's gone Mad The tea's gone Mad

L.

Hello, this is the end of this story.

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