Chapter 1 — Sibling bonding

The sun dipped low behind the skyline of Tokyo, casting a golden hue over the bustling streets as Misaki finally stepped out of the glass building where she spent her days confined to cubicles. A content smile on her face as she took in a deep breath, the air held a crispness that hinted at the approaching evening, and the city thrummed with life as salarymen and women scurried past, eager to get home.

"About time— I never thought the day would end."

she exhaled softly, staring at the sunrise for a moment before turning her attention back to the buildings she stepped out of. Waiting for her younger brother to eventually step out. He always seemed to be the last one out in any given place, and this time was no different. However this time he thankfully didn't take too long as she spotted him within the first five minutes of waiting, Jacket lazily tossed over his shoulder and a look of visible relief once he spotted her.

"There you are," Kenji said once he catched up, "I was worried you left me for a second."

She simply rolled her eyes at his comment, "As if- You're the one who's paying for all of us after all, it'd be rude to do that. But, we should get going. Haruhi is already in the district waiting for us." She says showing him the text messages "And she's already complaining that people are looking at her like she just got ghosted."

"Maybe we should leave her." He says, only taking a small glance at Misaki's phone before looking away, feigning disinterest "I bet she'd look real funny when she's frustrated." He adds on, his last few words more so an afterthought than an actual suggestion.

"I can't do that," Misaki chuckled, giving her brother a playful nudge. "You know Haruhi. She'd never let me hear the end of it if I left her behind. Plus, she'd probably make me suffer for it in some elaborate revenge scheme."

Kenji sighed dramatically, but couldn't help but smile at his sister's teasing. "Fine, fine... Let's go rescue the damsel in distress then."

As they made their way through the throngs of people, Misaki couldn't help but feel a sense of belonging in the bustling city. She loved the constant energy and the way it seemed to pulse through her veins. The streets were alive with vibrant neon signs and the aroma of street food wafted through the air, tempting her senses.

Finally reaching the district where they were meeting Haruhi, they spotted her sitting on a bench by the fountain, looking equal parts frustrated and impatient. Her long chestnut hair tied neatly into a low ponytail as she tapped her foot impatiently.

"Sorry we're late," Misaki called out, waving as they got closer.

Haruhi's frustration melted away as she saw her friends approaching. She stood up and smiled, relief evident in her eyes. "Finally! I thought you two had forgotten about me."

Kenji chuckled and gave her a playful punch on the arm. "We would never leave our dear Haruhi behind, would we, Misaki?"

Misaki hummed in agreement, shaking her head. "No chance."

With their small group reunited, they strolled through the district, the city's vibrant energy enveloping them. The aroma of street food grew stronger as they passed by various stalls, making their mouths water.

"Get whatever your heart desires, I'll be waiting for y'all in that clothing shop." Kenji announces, motioning towards a random shop. "Don't put me into debt though-" He adds on pushing his card into Misaki's hand before departing.

Both Misaki and Haruhi eyed each other for a moment before looking back at the card in hand, momentarily wondering what to do.

"We should buy everything that we come across!" Haruhi declared

"Don't be stupid, just cause he seems nonchalant doesn't mean he won't harass me for all the money we spent." Misaki objected, shaking her head.

"He said buy whatever you want, I'm sure he'll understand—" Haruhi said, already walking off to one of the food vendors.

"If he asks me about his money I'm telling him you stole the card!" she called after her, watching as she walked off before realizing she's not gonna stop and chasing after her.

Kenji softly sighed as his posture slightly relaxed, his attention fixed on two dresses he had in hand trying to figure out which one would fit Misaki the best. "Maybe I should go ask them myself?" He mumbles to himself, starting to regret his decision of letting them run off with his card.

But he's not left to ponder long before Haruhi and Misaki step inside the shop, Misaki hands full of boxes and bags.

"That's a lot of... Stuff you got there." He mumbles looking past Haruhi and at Misaki instead.

"Hm? Oh yeah, we couldn't decide—"

"You couldn't decide," Misaki corrected, awkwardly trying to maneuver her way through the aisle without bumping into anyone.

"Yeah yeah- same thing! We couldn't decide what to get so we just got anything that looked nice."

Haruhi explained, watching as Misaki carefully placed the bags down before glancing over at Kenji about to say something but her words were interrupted before they ever came out of her mouth, her eyes gleaming as she stared at the dresses folded over his arms.

"Oh, Misaki look at this red one!" Haruhi announced, practically snatching it from him to show it off to Misaki.

"It's beautiful," she murmured, her fingers tracing the intricate lace that adorned its bodice. The anticipation of transformation, of becoming someone new—even if just for an evening—set her heart fluttering.

"Try it on! You'd look stunning," Haruhi encouraged, as she nudged Misaki towards the fitting rooms.

Slightly overwhelmed but unable to resist her friends' enthusiasm, Misaki followed them into the fitting room area.

In the midst of the excitement, Kenji lingered near a display of silk shirts, his gaze not on the merchandise but drifting towards his sister and her friend. His eyes followed Misaki's movements, a subtle tilt to his head betraying a lingering stare that he masked with a casual lean against a glass counter.

"Found anything for yourself, Kenji?" Misaki called out, her tone light yet edged with a hint of curiosity.

"Ah," Kenji replied, his eyes flickering away momentarily. "Still looking." His words were nonchalant, almost too practiced in their disinterest as he pretended to inspect a navy blue shirt held between his fingers.

"Stop worrying about your brother, we have a dress to get you in." Haruhi pouted, closing the curtain with a soft swish, left to her own privacy she pulled on the dress smoothing out any wrinkles in the skirt.

"Does it fit okay? Anything too tight?" Haruhi's voice filtered through the fabric partition, tinged with excitement.

"Like it was made for me," Misaki responded, her words muffled as she wrestled with the zipper. A swell of confidence swelled within her as the dress hugged her form, its color a striking complement to her inky eyes.

"Well you gotta show us, hurry up and come out!" Haruhi insisted, her enthusiasm almost infectious.

With a deep breath, Misaki whisked aside the curtain, stepping into view. A gasp of delight escaped her lips, "Oh you look absolutely breathtaking!"

From across the shop floor, Kenji's attention snapped to his sister. His eyes settled upon her figure, appreciation melding with something else, something unreadable.

"Thank you," Misaki said, addressing Haruhi's compliment. "Let's find something for you next," Misaki suggested, eager to divert attention from herself.

"You're right- I've been eyeing this one purple skirt!" Haruhi agreed, tugging Misaki along to where she last saw the skirt.

The afternoon sun cast a golden hue over the cityscape as Kenji, Misaki, and Haruhi navigated through the crowds of people, Laughter spilled from Haruhi's lips like chimes in the wind, her ponytail swaying with each step.

"Ah, I should head back," Haruhi announced, glancing at her wristwatch—a delicate piece that glinted in the fading light. "I've got early preparations for tomorrow's meeting."

Misaki nodded understandingly, "Right, we wouldn't want you to sleep through your big day."

Hugging both siblings, Haruhi bid farewell, waving goodbye to them with her fair share of bags in her free hand. As the sun began to set, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple, Misaki and Kenji found themselves wandering aimlessly through the now quieter streets.

"I think we're getting a new employee— Aster mentioned something about a new guy." Misaki mumbled, examining the light pink shirt in hand.

"You don't say?" Heb replied feigning interest as he tossed another dress into the cart. "Well we can always talk about it later,"

"Yeah I guess you're right," She remarked, grabbing the dress he carelessly threw into the shopping cart. "Let me just try on this last dress," Misaki said, her hands brushing over the fabric. "Then we can go."

"Take your time," he said, smiling softly in an attempt of reassurance, but it'd failed to reach his eyes.

Misaki entered the narrow confines of the dressing room, the curtain pulling shut behind her. She peeled off her clothes, the day's purchases piled neatly on the small bench beside her. Whilst in the midst of pulling her pants down though, movement caught her peripheral vision.

Her gaze locked onto the reflection in the mirror, and for a moment, time seemed to stutter. Kenji stood partially obscured by the row of pastel-hued dressing rooms, his eyes unmistakably fixed upon her through the slender gap in the curtains.

"Kenji," Misaki's voice was a sharp blade, severing the thick air between them.

"What are you doing?"

Her younger brother's ever-relaxed image wavered. And she felt absolutely disgusted, as questions flew through her mind.

How long?

Did he do this with Haruhi too?

Is this actually happening?

What the actual hell is wrong with him?

All questions she barely lingered on, watching as he took a step back, nervousness taking over as he mumbled out an excuse she couldn't care to hear.

"J-just making sure you don't need any help," Kenji replied, his earlier anxiety fading away and being masked by calmness that just didn't match the situation.

"By watching me change?" Misaki countered, hurriedly pulling something—anything— to cover herself up. "Just what the hell were you doing-" she stammered even though she already knew.

She couldn't bear to vocalize it, the betrayal and disgust still simmering within her. Kenji's silence was deafening as he avoided her gaze, his eyes darting around the small dressing room as if searching for an escape. Misaki's heart pounded in her chest, anger and hurt swirling within her.

"God damn it, answer me!" she demanded, her voice trembling with a mixture of rage and hurt. "Your my fucking brother, h-how could you do this?"

"It's nothing, just..." Kenji's sentence trailed off, unfinished.

"Nothing?" She scoffed. "That 'nothing' is a violation, Kenji. You owe me more than some feigned ignorance."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Kenji's response came at last, a weak defense against his sister's accusations.

"Sorry doesn't excuse what you did." Misaki's retort was swift and unwavering. She hated it— How desperately she wished he could just say it was some sick prank, that it was a joke gone wrong and he meant nothing more when doing it. But that stare, that hell forsaken glare was burned into her memory. What was behind that look wasn't innocent, it was raw unfiltered desire.

"Let's go home," she said finally, the words heavy with unspoken disappointment. He nodded wordlessly, looking away as she pulled her pants back on. A wordless agreement that as long as they were in the public eye, they wouldn't speak about what happened. But the conversation was far from over.

"Come on, Misaki," Kenji pleaded, his voice laced with a feigned casualness that did little to ease the tension coiling in the air. "It wasn't like that. You're seeing things in the wrong light." With an almost apathetic flick of his wrist, he waved off her accusations as if they were no more than pesky flies at a summer picnic.

Misaki's eyes followed the dismissive arc of his hand, feeling the sting of the gesture more acutely than words could inflict. "Wrong light?" Her voice was sharp, but did little to cut through his nonchalant facade. "Kenji, this is not something you can just brush off."

"Really, sis," he continued, his chuckle forced, hollow. "You're blowing this out of proportion. It's not like I meant anything by it."

The bustle of the city around them seemed to pause, as if even Tokyo's relentless rhythm could not drown out the gravity of the moment. Misaki stood still amidst the human tide, her mind reeling. She watched her brother, once a source of pride, now a stranger wrapped in familiar skin.

"Cmon, I'm being serious here— You're just misunderstanding everything," Kenji pleaded. "You're my sister, Misaki. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you."

"And you have to think about it from all perspectives— even if I wanted to hurt you, wouldn't it be physical? What I did was look, nothing wrong about that."

Misaki's brows furrowed, trying to decide whether or not to move on from this. "It was once, you can't ruin our entire relationship because of one silly little mistake I made can you?"

"How can I know this is just a one time thing? For all I know you could've been doing this for years and I just got lucky and caught you that one time."

"Do you really think that low of me?"

She's not sure why that got to her, his tone wasn't as sharp or blunt as his words suggested. "No... I guess you're right, I'm probably blowing it out of proportion a little bit."

Kenji's face softened, relief evident in his eyes. "I'm glad you understand, Misaki."

Misaki took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm of emotions raging within her. Even if she'd technically forgiven him, a part of her—one that she wanted to shut up— knew that he knew what he did was wrong and disgusting and that she was letting him get away with it.

"Kenji," she began, her voice trembling. "I-I just need time to process all of this" she mumbled, looking away from him

"Yeah, yeah I understand. I'll uh, see you in the office tomorrow I guess." He replied, his voice barely masking the disappointment and resignation that lingered beneath the surface. With a final glance, he turned and walked away In the direction of his home leaving her behind.