"Rei!" Reika called him from downstairs. "Get up before I arrive there!" Rei jumped, startled.
Kenji opened the door again, and he was holding a plate of toast now. "Hurry up and eat before your mother gets mad," he said simply. "She's in a good mood right now. Let's not change that."
Rei's stomach flipped. If his father was giving him a warning, he would rather take it. Rei hurried down the stairs, still shaking off sleep, and slid into his chair just in time for breakfast. It was as normal as a Kurozawa breakfast could get.
Rei barely had time to process his surroundings when Nagi suddenly shoved a very sharp chef's knife toward him. "Morning, big brother."
Rei yelped and jerked back, nearly tipping over his chair. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Nagi just grinned, resting his chin on his palm. "Reflex check." He returned to use his very big knife to …butter? his bread.
Reika's face twitched as she folded the newspaper with a crisp snap. "Nagi. Put. The knife. Away." Their father was right – she didn't seem too happy. Plus Nagi had used that knife to scrape Reika's beautiful and meticulous wooden counters.
Nagi decided to spin the handle in his palm but he kept it away from Rei. Reika's gaze was like a razor's edge. "I will personally make sure it's the last knife you ever hold if you don't put it down now, Nagi."
Nagi wisely obeyed before eagerly continuing his large plate. Rei looked at the food: Eggs, bacon, sausages…the works! It was a full English breakfast. Rei started to dig in. He questioned if their father was wrong for saying Reika was angry.
Arato, without looking up, began shredding an apple with quick, precise movements of his knife, reducing it to uneven chunks. Then, in one swift motion, he scooped up the shredded apple and dumped it unceremoniously onto Rei's plate, right beside the crispy bacon and half-eaten eggs.
Rei blinked, staring at the sudden pile of apple shreds now mingling with his breakfast. "Uh… thanks?" he said, his voice tinged with confusion. Arato gave a slow, unreadable nod, his expression as neutral as ever, and went back to cutting into his sausage without another word.
Rei hesitated, glancing between the shredded apple and Arato, who seemed entirely unfazed. Deciding it wasn't worth questioning, he picked up his fork, speared a piece of apple, and shrugged. "Guess it's fruit salad now," he muttered before taking a bite.
"So, Rei," Kenji began, deceptively calm, "care to explain why you came home drunk last night?"
Rei stiffened mid-chew. Oh. So that's what this was about.
He swallowed, lowering his fork slowly. "Uh… drunk? Me?!" He forced a laugh. "I think you're mistaken. I was just—" He started his usual gaslighting.
Reika set her teacup down with a sharp clink. The sound sliced through the room like a guillotine.
"Don't insult our intelligence," she said coldly, her voice dipping into something razor-thin and dangerous. "You reeked of alcohol. You were stumbling through the house like a pathetic, brainless, useless—" She exhaled sharply, cutting herself off, but the venom in her voice remained.
Rei grimaced.
Kenji exhaled through his nose. "Rei, we're not just upset that you went to a party. We're upset that you keep doing this. You were grounded, and you still went. You were just arrested last week at a party, with the same friends. Do you even understand the position you're putting yourself in?"
Rei scoffed, arms crossing defensively. "I wasn't at fault last time! I was literally there for seconds! Before that, I had never been arrested. There are people there who—"
"And that's the problem!" Reika snapped.
Her chair screeched as she shot to her feet, the force of it making the tableware rattle. Her fingers trembled against the polished wood, curling into fists so tight her knuckles turned white. She took a sharp breath through her teeth, eyes dark and burning.
"You are not people! You are Kurozawa, Rei." Her voice was eerily soft now, almost too calm, but the way it slithered over each syllable made the hairs on his arms stand up. "And an absolute, monumental fool too. Do you think this is some kind of game?" She laughed heartily before falling into a cold face.
Do you think we enjoy this? That it's fun for us to wake up in the middle of the night wondering with another headache coming from you because you just can't keep yourself from acting like an absolute, self-absorbed imbecile?"
Her fingers twitched violently against the table, as if resisting the urge to lunge across it and strangle him.
"You don't know who's watching," she hissed. "Who's waiting for an opportunity to use you against us. You don't know how reckless you're being, how bad you are painting this family, how much of a liability you've become—"
Rei rolled his eyes. "Oh, please—"
Kenji's chair scraped back. His expression was darker now, void of any lingering patience. He was giving Rei a warning.
Rei swallowed. His father was very calm and didn't get angry– because his anger was horrid.
Kenji's stare was heavy, suffocating. "Do you remember what almost happened last time, Rei? Underage drinking and drug abuse charges. You were seconds away from getting a record. Do you have any idea what that means for you? For us?"
Rei hesitated. "I mean, yeah, but it wasn't a big deal…"
"Shut up." Reika's voice cut through the air like a blade.
She was shaking now—rage pouring off her in waves, her breath coming in erratic bursts. Her nails scraped against the table, a harsh, grating sound that sent chills down his spine.
"Do you know how lucky you are to have food, a home, an education?" Her voice was rising now, cracking under the weight of her anger. "To walk freely without someone deciding whether you live or die? To have friends… and… and hobbies?"
She let out a sharp, humourless laugh.
"Do you even understand how much of a privilege it is that you have the option to be a reckless, idiotic disgrace? That we let you run your mouth instead of knocking your teeth out? That we let you exist like this—like some ridiculous, pathetic little prince who doesn't know when to shut up or be grateful?"
Rei scoffed loudly, throwing his hands up. "Oh my GOD, here we go again—'Back in my day, we had to walk twenty miles in the snow with no shoes and no legs!'"
Reika's eye twitched. "You think this is a joke?"
Rei snorted. "No, I think you just love to hear yourself talk."
The temperature in the room dropped. Reika's nails dug into the table so hard, she splintered the wood.
"Maybe your grandfather had the right idea," she said suddenly, voice low.
Rei froze. At this, even Kenji lost his anger. "Reika." He said, hoping she'd stop. She didn't.
"Maybe it will work again." Nagi had stabbed his egg with it and was eating it when he dropped it in shock.
Rei's heartbeat skyrocketed. He couldn't believe– Nevermind that. His heart pounded so loudly in his ears that he barely heard the conversation anymore. The air in the room thickened, pressing against him, crushing his lungs.
He tried to suck in a lungful of air, but it caught in his throat, jagged and broken. His chest heaved, but nothing came in. Nothing.
The floor felt unsteady beneath him. His hands curled into the fabric of his shirt, twisting, desperate for grounding, but his body wasn't listening. A sharp ringing had overtaken the sounds of the room, growing louder and louder. He needed to get out.
He pushed himself up, chair scraping violently against the floor as he staggered backward. It was a mistake. His knees buckled and the ground rushed up to meet him.