Chapter Seven – The Replacement Takishima

Sui Takishima wasn't used to this kind of pressure. Yes, he was intelligent. Yes, he could probably excel in any sport which he invested energy in. Yes, he was good looking and could manipulate girls to his whim. He just wasn't Kei Takishima. Kei had that part of his brain that made him act like a robot. He had skills that seemed to be programmed into him. He could do things that only superheroes in comic books could do. That was until now, until he had become sick.

"Big brother," Sui said as he stood in Kei's bedroom. He looked around. He saw a book that was pulled out and went over to it. His hand went to a handkerchief with some blood on it and he breathed deeply. He pulled the cloth to his chest and closed his eyes painfully. Even if Kei did seem robotic at times, he was the big brother he loved and always aspired to be.

He went to sit on Kei's bed with the book and opened it. Inside were pictures which he hadn't seen very often. He had seen photographs of Hikari and Kei with Hikari dotted around the room. There were even a collection of photographs of them as a family looking very formal and positioned. This book was filled with memories Kei had had with his friends and Sui continued to look through the pages.

He stopped as he saw a picture which he didn't remember. It was Kei as a young boy holding him as a baby. Kei still looked a little stiff and uncomfortable but he had a curiosity in his eyes, a little light that said that he was happy. His brother had been pushed into things his whole life and he was used to it. Now he was experiencing something that no one had planned for.

Sui felt his body shake as he looked at the book and bowed his head. He wasn't his brother. They wanted someone to replace his brother if Kei were to die from this sickness but he wasn't Kei Takishima and Sui Takishima didn't seem to even match up. They needed Kei. They all did.

Sui looked at some of the other pictures of himself as a small boy and he felt completely taken over by the fear that one day his older brother wouldn't be there any longer and that there would be a missing place in the family pictures. Even when he was to marry, there wouldn't be the four people who needed to be there. Having Hikari in the family portraits was better than not having his brother there at all. If Kei died, would he still be his older brother even when Sui had passed his age at death.

The young boy shivered as he sat on the bed. He brought his arm to his face and started sobbing.

Hikari stepped into the room, helping Kei who was in a wheelchair into his bedroom. She looked to her boyfriend and they exchanged a concerned glance before Hikari turned towards the younger of the Takishima brothers. "Sui," she said and he jolted up, his back straightening.

"I'm not crying!" he said before taking slow breaths. He turned around to see that Kei had wheeled himself forwards and was looking at him concerned. "Big brother," Sui gasped before pulling the book to his chest as if hiding it. "I wasn't looking at anything. I wa-"

"It's okay," Kei told him before coughing. "I don't mind. Did you see anything interesting?"

"No. I wasn't snooping," Sui said quickly before handing Kei back the handkerchief and Kei stared at the blood from when his throat felt incredibly scratchy so there was blood from that. He took it and thought of how devastated his grandfather was when confronted by his grandmother's tombstone.

"I want you to have those memories too, I don't want them to turn you into me," Kei told him and Sui paused as he looked at him nervously. "This book is important because it means that you can have fun with other people and I'm not giving up that easily," he said before coughing and looking at the bed. Sui turned to him confused and then stood up, putting the book on the bookshelf.

"Can we talk after you get some rest?" he asked and Hikari saw Kei open his mouth to argue but he just nodded.

"Here, I'll help you," Hikari said trying to keep her energy high so that she could make sure that Kei's energy was as strong as possible. Sui watched his brother painfully as he saw the difficulty which he was facing. Soon after he was in the bed, Kei closed his eyes and Hikari tucked him in. She sighed as she looked at him. She didn't really know how to provide for him in a loving manner. All that she had known was how to be a friend and make challenges and that didn't seem ideal for this situation. She wasn't the most comfortable with her own feelings.

"I don't think I can do it," Sui whispered and Hikari tilted her head as she turned to him.

"Huh?" she asked and Sui looked towards her again. "I'm sorry. What did you say?" she asked and Sui nervously shifted.

"I don't want to take my brother's place. I want for him to get healthy and make a full recovery," he whispered. Sui closed his eyes and started to shake, breaking down but trying to keep his pride in not wanting for Hikari to see. He didn't want this stupid girl to see his own pain, she didn't know how to help him.

"Sui," Hikari said as he approached him. "I promise to do my best to take care of him and support him. Kei is also going to be doing his best as well."

"You didn't call him Takishima like you used to," Sui said and Hikari nodded, she turned to look at Kei. She knew that she had used that name when talking to Sui about Kei despite them being brothers. However, Kei Takishima needed her help. She needed to be as close to him as possible and that meant that she had to try to be more emotionally close as well.

"I know," Hikari nodded. "I really like calling him Takishima when I'm challenging him to competitions and when I'm being casual with him. I like doing it when we're just talking and spending time together. I think," Hikari's cheeks turned bright red, "Kei is more important when I need to express how much I care for him. I'm really scared of loving him."

"Don't be," Sui said as he turned and attempted to leave the room, taking one last look at Kei, "Big Brother loves you more than anything in the world. He loves you more than any stupid guy you see on those romance movies."

Hikari blushed again and started to follow Sui out, closing the door most of the way. She would be leaving soon but Satoru knew about Kei being home and Hikari was pretty sure they had some kind of a device where they were listening for even the slightest sound. "He cares a lot about you too and he has the energy to still care about many people. The doctor said he needs rest now but we can still be on the taking care of Takishima team," she winked and Sui bit his top lip.

"The doctors say that he'll be okay?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and Hikari moved awkwardly. That wasn't exactly what the doctors had said to her but she didn't want to disappoint the boy before her who was already acting more mature than his age. There was a lot of sadness which hopefully could be cured in this house.

"The doctors are going to do their best and I know he's fighting too so we'll fight to support him and cheer him on, okay?" Hikari asked and Sui nodded slowly. He looked towards the bedroom again.

"You'll do your best to make sure he's okay?" Sui asked and Hikari could see how scared he was.

"Absolutely," she said before giving a playful salute and wink and Sui rolled his eyes.

"You really are a dork," he said in a playful manner as he went to his own room. Hikari smiled as she saw him leave and then took a step back. Her palm rest on the door of her boyfriend's room. All she could do was hope for the best.

End of Chapter Seven

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