Chapter 8: Chapter Eight
The silance was stifling.
Kenji sipped on his drink he got from a vending machine, as Horikita sat slightly in front, on the edge of a concrete container that kept the mushes and trees while Kiyotaka was leaning on the vending machine, looking at his own drink.
Sighing, he lowered the can to his side, looking over to his half-brother.
"You can ask."
Kiyotaka looked over to him, eyeing him for a moment.
"Ask what? We have the same last name, it could be a coincidence..."
Kenji hummed, bringing his drink up to take another sip from the can.
"How did you doc your scores on the exams?"
His eyes traveled to Horikita, raising an eyebrow at her and shrugging.
"It was easy enough."
Her eyes bore into him but remained silent. Sighing again, he pulled out his phone.
"Alright you two, look alive, come over here, I got information."
One raised eyebrow and one blank look was what he got for his efforts, but nonetheless, they walked over.
"I talked to the second years, and managed to get the quiz they had in the first year."
Tapping a specific picture, he held it at a comfortable angle for both of them to look at.
"Interesting..."
Kiyotaka muttered, looking over the quiz.
"Does this mean the midterm will be the same too?"
Horikitas inquiry got a grin out of Kenji and he swiped to the side, bringing up the midterm questions.
"I'll send these over to you two later, but don't let your study group know you have them."
Horikita looked at him with an inquisitive stare so he started explaining.
"If you gave them the midterms right off the bat, they would forget studying-"
He shrugged.
"Teach them, little by little. Change the wording, keep the answers similar, and a few days before the midterm, give them a test of your own."
Kenji turned off the phone screen and pocketed it.
"When they do the test, even if there are mistakes, help them correct those mistakes on their own, they will remember that, and when the actual test comes and they see how easy it is..."
He smiled at her, letting her come to her own conclusions.
"They will most likely study on their own..."
Kenji's smile widened a tiny bit, expertly ignoring the stare he was getting from Kiyotaka.
"Alright, I'm going to go back."
Swiftly and dismissively, she turned around and started walking, not even asking them if they were coming. Kiyotaka tried to follow, but Kenji raised a hand to hold him back, getting another look as a response.
As soon as Horikita was out of the hearing range, Kenji sighed and walked over to the bench, sitting down and looking at the can in his hands.
"You know, I know you do."
He pointed out, his eyes traveling back to stare at Kiyotaka, two same expressionless eyes meeting.
"We might be related, yes... Did you also go through what I did?"
Kenji shook his head.
"No... My situation was different from yours."
Kiyotaka walked over and sat down on the bench next to him.
"Different how?"
Kenji remained silent for a moment, turning the can in his hand for a bit, gathering his thoughts.
"My mother was a scientist from Georgia..."
Kiyotaka looked over to him, eyebrow raised.
"The state?"
Kenji shook his head.
"No, the country, she moved to Japan when since she had a family member here... She got involved with the White Room program and met your father. A one-night stand got her pregnant, she was young, careless, and looking at him with pink-tinted glasses..."
Sighing he took a breath and continued.
"She didn't tell him, she didn't know what to do, but when she found out that another woman was pregnant with his child and he was planning to put the child in the program when they... You were born... She left the country, and then, I was born nine months later, two weeks before you..."
Kenji leaned back, looking up at the stars for a moment.
"She told me that I had a brother in Japan, about my age, I guessed, I hoped you would be here, the conditions were perfect, three years of no outside contact. I was ready to search the other classes, but it was a stroke of luck that we ended up in the same class..."
Kiyotaka remained silent as Kenji spoke, his eyes trained on the older of the two's form.
"We are half brothers, Kiyotaka, but brothers nonetheless..."
__
Kenji lay down on his bed, his forearm covering his eyes as he exhaled.
Well, today was eventful, that much he could say. Moving his hand away from his eyes, Kenji sat up on the bed, looking around the room.
With his recent income, even if he did send one-third of it to his brother, he could decorate. Yey...
Maybe he wasn't as good at this distracting ones self from their problems as he initially thought...
Weekly Power Status
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