Episode 4 part 2 : Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans

He followed them inside.

After he discovered that he was practically invisible, he didn't have a lot of options other than tailing the two seeing as he had no idea how he could go back to his body. Haruyuki was feeling eloquently like a creepy stalker.

The restaurant wasn't that different from any typical fast-food chains he often visited in his world. 'Pandaway' certainly leaves little imagination on what inspired its name.

Panda-themed poster ads framed horizontally in line, leading towards the cash registers. Only a few tables were occupied, customers mostly from the working class.

Cementing this was actually happening, he almost had a heart attack when some kind of strange carnival tune had blared out of nowhereーmatching up to his brother's awkward nervous stumbling. Poor Ritsu was completely overwhelmed by the cashier's overly cheerful demeanour.

"Arghh...this really feels like an otome game." He bemoaned, wishing that he could wake up from this ridiculous predicament.

He was already living as a manga characterーhe didn't feel the need to really live like some playable main avatar.

In the end, Saga helps out by getting himself and his poor brother the same thing. Ritsu didn't mind that much; he would rather take anything at this point than keeping other customers waiting in line.

Haruyuki quietly took a seat at a table closest to his brother. It surprised him that he could interact with his surroundings with the exception of people. It nearly freaked him out when an unsuspecting passerby had walked straight through him as if he was some sort of spectre.

Puffing out an exhale, Haruyuki could only play a part being an unseeing third wheel as he lazily watches the ongoing conversation between his brother and Saga.

"I'm sorry...It's actually my first time coming into a place like this…"

"Seriously?"

"I was jealous when I saw a friend bring some in for lunch earlier and I wanted to try it myself…" Ritsu admitted, "But I never expected to be met with a mountain of questions like that! And so many people lining up behind me, I had no clue what to do…!"

"'Questions'? You mean your order?"

Haruyuki snorted at Ritsu's exaggeration.

Dramatics aside, he did feel kinda bad. It didn't cross his mind that his brother had no clue how to order at a fast-food chain since ordering at a counter was pretty basic.

Save for a few fancy family dinners, Haruyuki completely overlooked the fact that Ritsu really had no experience in this. Their mother highly disapproves of consuming any ready-made or store-bought provisions as she often dubbs them being too 'unhealthy'. It's a wonder if he hadn't come equipped with his own experiences from his other life, he might as well be in a similar state as his brother.

"That won't do. I'm definitely going to rectify this once I get back to my body" the troubled teen muttered. Looking back at the chatter bug, he sighed, amused despite his current predicament.

"Well...at least you're not alone."

'Are you kidding me?'

"?!"

Equivalent as to being slapped, Haruyuki abruptly turns to the dark-haired teenーstartled by the sudden admission. What took him by surprise was not the feelings of slight disbelief but the bitter edge and a touch of envy delivered behind those words.

Wait. Did he just read Saga's mind?

'A little prince raised in luxury.'

Eyes narrowed, Haruyuki frowned at the seemingly apathetic teenager, whose attention solely on his clueless twin. What was this kid's problem?

More unsavoury monologue came spewing from the senior in contrast to his brother's innocent display of naivety. Haruyuki grew agitated. His teeth gritted and creaked, tensed trying to contain his anger. His fists clenched tight on the tabletop until knuckles turned white.

'When I see someone like him, all innocent and forward-facing, it makes me realize all the dark and dirty aspects of myself...It irritates me.'

The next line had him almost growling.

'Makes me want to destroy him.'

He was practically shaking by then, barely trying to contain himself. His rage was roaring inside himself akin to an uncontrollable forest fire. It was accompanied by a growing taint: a darkness that was threatening to overtake his senses.

Closing his eyes, Haruyuki took several long breaths in an attempt to rein in his temper.

'Calm down...Calm down...'

It took a while but he wasn't as overwhelmed by the onslaught of emotions as he was just moments ago. He rarely felt this furious but hearing what he categorized as insults thrown at his brother unawares by said brother's crush nonetheless made him want to lunge at the teen.

That creeping taint thoughー he was starting to think that the pent up feeling he had wasn't entirely his but was coming from Saga. That would explain the excess anger.

Besides, now he took a moment and thought about it; it wasn't exactly fair for him to act when he himself had been listening in to his thoughts.

Suddenly, the severity of what it entitles made him uncomfortable. He was basically exploiting Saga's vulnerability as if he had little regard for his free will. The need for privacy and solitude of his mind. Add to the fact that he had literally viewed his life along with some others through a manga, it didn't sit too well with him. Not anymore.

He has to respect that these 'characters' were just as alive as he was. This is his reality now.

Turning his attention back to the couple, he noted that as time progresses, Saga had become much more relaxed. No longer oozing negative emotions, he seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself; sharing a common interest with Ritsu about the latest magazine that was released that day.

Empathic he may be, it doesn't mean he will leave Saga any leeway to hurt his brother any more than he should. Even if his upbringing had led him to be a jerk.

———————————————————

If there was someone who was painfully riddled with misfortune it was one Onodera Haruyuki.

When Haruyuki finally came to, he was laying on the ground with his cheek against the floor of the locker entrance supporting a massive headache. And a sizeable bump on the side of his head.

There wasn't anyone around, he couldn't decide whether or not that was a good thing. He took several minutes to centre himself before he semi-crawled to slump against the metal lockers feeling unusually drained.

Sighing noisily, he fished out his flip phone from his pants pocketー checking to see if there were any missed calls or unread messages from a concerned twin. Surprisingly, there were none. He'd been gone for almost an hour; if the timestamp glaring back at him was any indication, while subconsciously he felt like he'd been gone for days.

What baffled him was having to watch glimpses of Saga's life. He thought these 'visions' or 'journal logs' rather was leaning towards the bond he shared with Ritsu due to being brothers; identical twins in fact.

At leastー theoretically; that's what he'd come up with based on his two days worth of research. Twins sharing an unexplained mental and spiritual connection though debatable, it's an intriguing idea. One that spread into many different cultures and beliefs since ancient times. However, judging from various accounts and sources, it meant that both siblings should be able to share similar experiences. In Haruyuki's case, it seemed he was the only one affected by this.

Then again, his brother isn't a reincarnation hailing from a different reality. The very idea of Ritsu suddenly possessing the ability to see the future in that manner would paramount to a disaster waiting to happen.

'Tch. When it comes to me nothing ever makes sense.' he thought bitterly, ruffling his bangs roughly.

Who was he kiddingー what could have he expected?

Compared to his half-blotched research, there's a lot of ground that had yet to be covered by those who literally spent decades exploring this area of expertise. He was deluding himself into thinking that he found the answer within such a short span amount of time.

Still, he'd wish there were some way to control this phenomenon. Other than the occasional headaches, this was becoming more than just a huge inconvenience that couldn't be solved simply with a prescription. Even more so if it were to get out to Ritsu; even worse if it happens within his sights.

So far, he noted that it had been set to trigger whenever a 'scene' of the 'plot' was set into motion. It's only a matter of removing himself to a different locationー preferably someplace secure before it occurs.

Unfortunately, that would only be a temporary solution. He had yet to consider if this problem is going to be long term or it's going to happen with every scene.

The prospect of being in a coma(again) was less than promising. One he very much would like to avoid altogether.

"...He's probably still with Saga-senpai right now."

Humming, his thumb hovered over the dial, contemplating whether he should interrupt his twin's 'date'.

"Nahー I'll text him that I wasn't feeling very good." He muttered, decided to let things be. His finger already set into motion, flying across the little buttons with practised ease; typing out a message to its intended recipient before pressing send.

As he was about to consider calling his mother, his phone pinged; indicating an incoming message. As expected, he was greeted with a string of worried sentences.

[Ehh?! Are you alright, Nii-san? What happened? How bad is it? Why didn't you say anything before?]

Haruyuki shook his head, lips uplifted into a grin. He was about to grace him with an answer when suddenly the phone rang, jolting him in surprise.

Apparently, Ritsu saw fit to call him directly instead. He didn't even get the chance to speak after pressing the answer call button.

["Are you really alright?! Do you need help getting home?! Wait, are you still at school?! I'llー"]

"Ritsu, calm down!" He couldn't help but chuckle at the exaggerated panic his twin was exuding. Although, it didn't mean the concern wasn't appreciated.

"I'm okay...but I think it'll take a little while for me to move again without having to squint all the way." He sighed, rubbing in between his brows to ease the ache.

"I'll call Mother. Sorry, Ritsu...I don't think we'll be able to go out together for that sandwich today…..I'll make it up to you some other time, ne? "

["Huh?! You don't have to worry about that, Nii-san! You shouldn't have to push yourself so hard! Especially for my sake…"] Ritsu insisted, mumbling at the end.

Haruyuki smiled, eyes taking on a warm glow as he softly uttered, more to himself, "You're worth it kiddo…"

["....!"]

"Just enjoy yourself alright? I'll see you at home."

["....."]

["Okay… Do you want anything before I get back?"]

"No, I'm good. Don't worry about getting back early...Take as long as you like. I'll cover for you."

["...Thanks, Nii-san…"]

Haruyuki hummed in acknowledgement. Before he hangs up he said, "There is one other thing though…"

["?"]

He knew what he said afterwards will garner him a lot of questions. But thenー

How could he miss the opportunity to rib at his brother for his first date?

"...When you get back, tell me how that date turned out."

["...eh?"]

The stupefied answer had his lips twitching as it gradually transitioned into a mischievous grin.

Haruyuki took a moment to let the words to fully sink in for the other. Mentally counting down for the desired effect.

3

2

1

"!!! E-E-EHH!!! W-WHA-?!-H-HOー"

"Bye~ See you later Rit-chan~"

There was a muddle of strangling and further indistinguishable noises on the other end but it was quickly cut off by one too gleeful twin, ending the call with a satisfying beep.

He snickered to himself despite the action wasn't helping any with his growing headache.

"Totally worth it."

———————————————————

Meanwhile on Ritsu's sideー

They were at the bookstore when his phone pinged just as he'd finished paying at the counter. After taking in the context of the text, the green-eyed teen had hurriedly excused himself looking incredibly upset.

It wasn't clear as to why, but judging from the bits and pieces from the phone call, Saga assumed it was a sick relative.

At least, that's what he thought until Ritsu had combusted himself into a blushing incoherent mess.

"It's everything alright?" asked Saga, coming over towards the other.

"..."

Still gawping down at his cell, Ritsu was left speechless. Positively flushed with myriads of self-consciousness, embarrassment and all-too-warm tingling sensations. That one word kept echoing in his mind, had him all but forgotten how his brother had known he was with his crush.

Date.

His face was slowly taking on an impersonation of a steaming red tomato with how hot his body was becoming.

'D-date?...Is this...Is this how is like? To go on a date with the person you love?' thought the green-eyed teen, recalling how enjoyable the day had turned out.

Needless to say, the whole trip back Ritsu was extremely happy that he was virtually walking in a daze. Saga, on the other hand, had yet to figure out what sort of over-the-phone conversation the junior had to have led him to act weirder than usual or that he was just plain weird.