A tension drifted between the two, awkwardly uncomfortable and uncertain. 

"Souta," Kaito turned, trying to keep a smile. "Let me be honest with you, I think it’s better if you give up on my sister.” 

"Where did this even come from?” Souta asked, his smile dimming like the sun on a rainy day.

“We haven’t had the time to talk in between just us in a while, so I thought I might as well finally get this off my chest.” He adjusted his jacket, slipping one of his hands into his pocket. 

Souta turned his body annoyingly. “It’s only a small crush, that’s all.” 

“Then get rid of it before it grows; it makes it all the less painful.” He reached for a close-by branch, still clinging to his body, and snapped it.

“It’s not that easy.” Souta faked a smile, growing irritated underneath. 

“Souta, I’m serious,” Kaito whispered, taking a mild sigh. “She’s not interested in you or romance, and you know that very well.”

"I know that, but feelings are feelings. You can’t just get rid of them at will." Souta closed the distance, budging against his shoulder in insistence. 

Kaito didn't answer, looking at Souta with a flat expression. 

"If I'm going to lose time with my only family left," Kaito murmured, taking a calming breath. "Then it'd better be to someone who treats her like a goddess."

Souta's expression cracked. "No one in this filthy world is close to perfect," Souta exclaimed, aggravatedly, his fists clenched. “Damn it, you’re not the only one who’s lost loved ones.”

Drip! 

A drizzle began. Faint droplets began to fall from the gathering clouds.

“You never had anyone to lose to begin with, Souta. You were spared the pain.” Kaito glared at Souta with envy. 

“That doesn’t excuse your obsession with pushing everyone away, you bastard!” Souta shouted, pushing his hand through the air sharply. 

Kaito froze for a moment, exhaling deeply.

"My sister deserves nothing less than the best." He stood his ground, unwaveringly.

Souta looked away, streaks of lightning emitting from his pupils. "Then you shouldn’t be talking either.”

Flash!

The sky was split by lightning, and when Kaito blinked, Souta had disappeared too. 

As the storm grew, he stood still in sorrow, reflecting on his actions as raindrops fell against his body. His chest tightened, his hand shivering. 

Have I really become a bad brother?

He glanced up into the hefty sky, a gray canvas of sorrow.

That day again... that same shade of rain.

A moment of silence encased his deep breaths. 

"It was this type of weather..." He whispered, voice trembling. "...when I became a brother."

As the sweet rain poured and his husk's glowed, he couldn't help but remember the day he met his precious little sister. 

The rustling trees and windy rain around him faded, only momentarily, now memories.

The same sounds returned, thirteen years ago, creaking towards the paned windows of his home. Kneeling on the seat's cushion, he glanced excitedly back and forth from the kitchen's clock and the forest. 

"Cmon, Mom, where are you?" Kaito cheered, brimming with excitement for his mother's return.

From the kitchen, beyond the sizzling chicken and the faint microwave, came a cheerful voice.

"Kaito, what do you want me to make you?" His father, Kazai, asked from the kitchen as he cautiously placed the meat onto a plate. He then poured barbecue onto the crispy chicken. 

The smell that came from the steamy collision was tempting, the crisp barbecue tickling his nose, but he refused. 

"I'm not hungry right now, Dad." He rested his head on the chair's rim, letting out a faint sigh. 

He reached for the window with his finger, following the running droplets pouring down the window as if it were a race. 

"Don't tell me you're still waiting for her?" He closed the bottle and spread the barbecue evenly, focused on the art he was creating.

Once he finished, he washed his hands and walked over to his impatient son. 

Hearing his footsteps getting closer, he turned his attention to him. "Yeah! Today's gonna be so awesome." 

Halfway to the living room, he stopped by the end counter and picked up a box of macaroni.

"What about your favorite, macaroni and cheese?" He shook the box, his attention quickly split by the rattling sound. “Trust me, the pizza won’t be enough.”

He narrowed his eyes for a moment, turning the box around as he wiped his wet hands on his apron.

Kaito turned his head in joy, tightening his grip as he leaned away from the chair's rim. "Yeah, I guess I’ll take that." 

Suddenly, Kazai's heart tightened, tight cushions of air coming from every direction. He dropped the box and grabbed hold of the counter. He then looked towards Kaito, patting his chest as the pain vanished. 

What was that, Kazai thought to himself worryingly. 

Exhaling in relief, he crouched and rested his arms on his legs. "Okay, come here for a second." 

Kaito tilted his head in confusion, returning to looking at the sulking window after a second.

"I need to check your husk, son." Giving up on his posture, he instead knelt, resting his hands on his knees. He didn't know, but it was a habit he had gotten from his time working with Ansel and Naomi.

"The weird thing next to my heart?" He turned his body, swinging his legs, now hanging off the cushion.

He took off his pink soft apron and rested it on the countertop. "Yes, that thing, c'mon now." 

"But what about mom and the pizza?" He extended his hands wide and apart if he were a theater kid. 

His violet hair slightly swayed alongside his soft chuckle, dark shades of black hidden across a few spots.

"It won't take too long, I promise." Putting his hands together, a faint glow rose from his firm palm.

Kaito leaped from the chair and walked over to him, only taking a few seconds.

Placing the glow by Kaito's chest, Kazai momentarily closed his eyes. "How interesting," He murmured. "Your husk is still vibrant." 

He placed his hand under his chin curiously, pondering his thoughts.

"What does that mean?" He scratched his head, tilting his head slightly, confused. 

He clasped his hands together, smiling softly. "You remember what mana is?" 

"Yeah! The energy, something that um..." He paused for a second in thought. "...half of the world uses, I think?"

"Correct," Kazai nodded." Mana is the essence that fuels everything but humans and anything made by them, for example, this very city." 

The table behind them remained unprepared, a sign of their inevitable fate. 

"Yokohama?" Kaito guessed as he sat down, mimicking his father's posture.

"Yes, exactly. However, the mana in husks is different." Kazai traced his finger over his other arm, looking like a lecturing teacher. "At the cost of its quantity, its quality grows older and grayer as time goes on."

"So I'm supposed to have a super duper long beard now?" Kaito joked, stroking the air below his chin as if he had a beard.

"No, your husk is." He lightly tapped at his heart. "It's like Naomi's or her child, Luna's." 

"Is yours gray then, Dad?" He covered his mouth dramatically, taking a step back.

"Not as much as theirs," He whispered proudly. "Since I'm a Kijomi. But if we're using that as a standard, then you should be half as vibrant as me." 

"So... am I strong or weak?" Dumbfounded, Kaito blinked blankly. "Sorry, Dad, I don't get it."

"Kaito, think of it this way." He then gestured his hands across, like a narrow line. "If I exchange my bucket for two smaller ones, but with the same amount of water, and we leave them out in the sun, what happens?

"The water dries up?" He scratched the back of his head.

"Bingo, that's what happens to husk partnerships." He pointed back and forth between them. "Of course, not all husk wielders out there have an inheritor, or do they have to be parent and child, but the principle remains the same."

In the distance, the faint whisper of a car drifted by the open area in front, muffled by the heavy rain.

"That's so cool!" He exclaimed, raising his hands in admiration.

Kazai stood, taking a moment to stretch. "I'd like to think that maybe your husk hasn't realized it’s supposed to be dull yet or something." 

He gently pushed his back, leading him towards the table's other side.

"Okay, Dad, one more question." He said as he sat right next to him. "Why did you give me half of it if you'd be stronger if you had the whole?" 

Resting his elbows on the table, he leaned closer as if he were sharing a secret. "Even though husks can survive without a host, leaving them in the open risks the world's safety. In fact, all seven are currently within someone, whether through collaboration or a single holder. Splitting a husk means... a safeguard so that it may escape the clutches of–" He paused, pondering dramatically. "...super duper bad guys who only want power!" 

He sat up straight in disgust. "Bad guys? Like the dumb humans?!" 

Kazai hesitated. "Okay, I wouldn't say all humans are," He corrected swiftly. "Especially because your mother used to be–" 

He froze in fright, realizing what he was about to reveal.

"My mom?" Kaito tilted, a mixture of confusion and curiosity. 

"I meant that..." He coughed loudly, fidgeting with his fingers. "...she was a human rights advocate. Yeah, that."

"What does an ado cat have to do with the husks?" He asked as he played with the utensils.

"If humans can't get too close to an mana, what do you think will happen if they touch one of the seven husks?" He glanced back at the kitchen, feeling like he was forgetting something, but shrugged it off.

"They...die?" He slammed the utensils onto the table with a dramatic fart sound.

"Explode into a thousand pieces!" Mimicking an explosion sound, he leaned back and stretched his arms wide.

His jaw dropped in surprise. "Oh my goodness, that's crazy." 

He glanced towards the door and noticed the knob moving, standing up straight.

"And that's not even all there is to our husk." Getting further distracted by the topic, he counted his fingers. "Husk wielders can telepathically speak to one another, though circumstances and experience also play a role." 

Then the door opened, creaking slowly towards the kitchen.

"Um, Dad." He tried to call, but his father was lost in the conversation. 

A lady entered cautiously and then stood still, shocked. Her smile dropped rather quickly, making Kaito chuckle nervously.