Chapter 5: Moving Day

I don't think any of us expected the news we got two weeks before Kizuna's tenth birthday. Even Mom seemed surprised.

Dad walked in and said, by way of greeting, "We're moving to Minnesota!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at Dad. I remember asking him, "When did you decide this?"

"I've been accepted as a senior partner at a law firm in Minneapolis. We'll be moving at the beginning of August."

Kizuna's birthday party was a subdued affair, with good reason. Though neither of us really had friends in South Carolina, it was still our home.

Mom and Dad both tried to get Kizuna to invite all the little girls from her classes at church and school for a party but she refused. She made it clear to them she didn't like any of those girls. In a final effort, they asked me to try to talk her into it.

"I could probably do it," I said, "but I'm not going to. She doesn't want to have a birthday party. To be honest, most of those girls probably won't come over anyway."

They gave up.

Mom and Dad went up to Minnesota for a week in May, to find a place for us to live. They trusted me, as a sixteen-year-old, to take care of my brother and sister that whole week. It was probably because I had a driver's licence.

Somehow, I got conned into allowing Shinka to invite Tim over that Friday night. Tim came back with us after school and he and Shinka immediately shut themselves into Shinka's bedroom.

I debated going up and putting my ear to the door, but Kizuna said, "Oniichan, will you play chess with me?"

Kizuna had learned chess when she watched me play with another boy after church. It was more of that "I want to do everything Oniichan does" attitude, but I was thankful. She was quite skilled and had even beaten me twice, without me throwing the game.

Now that she was older, she was able to tell — most of the time — when I did that. Every time I tried, she would get pissed off and yell at me. She did make a good point: she learned better when she lost than when she won.

We were deep in play when Shinka and Tim finally came out. I had both of Kizuna's rooks, three pawns, and a knight; she had one of my knights, two pawns, and a bishop. The boys looked at us, Shinka shook his head, and they went outside.

I could see them riding their bikes down the street, then dismissed them from my mind and concentrated on the game. We were nearing the end when the boys came back.

Both were smirking, like they were in on a great secret that no one else knew. When I glanced at the clock, I realized they had been gone over two hours.

"Checkmate," I finally said. Kizuna only had a pawn, a knight, and a bishop left. She'd left me my queen, a knight, two pawns, and a rook.

Yes, I can remember about half of all the chess games I've ever played with my sister, especially when something eventful happened. When I was first told about my memory and it was explained to me, I was worried I fill my brain and my head would explode.

By the end of the game, it was almost seven. I started supper, a simple meal of tomato soup and cheese sandwiches.

We sat in the living room while we ate, watching a show about Stonehenge. Shinka and Tim shared the couch; I sat in a recliner with Kizuna on my lap.

Sometime around nine, Shinka stood up and said, "We're going to bed."

"So soon?" I asked. Shinka nodded. "Okay. Sleep well, guys."

Kizuna and I watched TV together for another hour. The next show was about crop circles. It was obvious my little sister didn't understand most of what the people on the show said, but since I liked it, she liked it.

We went to bed a little after ten o'clock. I peaked in at Shinka and Tim while Kizuna was brushing her teeth. Both were lying in his bed, topless and uncovered. I didn't blame them, considering how hot the summer night was.

"Oniichan," Kizuna said as I slid into bed beside her, "are we gonna make friends in Minnesota?"

"Of course we will. I mean, why wouldn't we?"

"But we don't have any friends here," she commented. I could tell by the way she said it that she was very worried about it. I couldn't blame her, either; I was the only "friend" she had and I knew she really wanted a girlfriend or two to talk to like every other girl had. Just because I was happy being a loner (except for Kizuna) didn't mean she was, though she always pretended it didn't matter.

There wasn't anything I could say to make her feel better, either, because I was very pessimistic about our chances of being accepted.

Next morning, I was the first to wake, as usual. Kizuna had her hand over my chest and I didn't want to move, for fear of waking her.

We lay together for some time. I just listened to her even breathing and enjoyed the closeness.

That was when I heard the odd sounds coming from the direction of Shinka's bedroom. Not wanting to wake Kizuna, but also curious, I gently moved her arm from my chest and slid out of the bed. She stirred slightly but didn't wake, causing me to breathe a sigh of relief.

Sneaking down the hallway, I could hear the sounds better. It sounded like the moans of someone having sex. I knew Shinka and Tim were the only other people in the house, which either meant they'd snuck in some girls (which was entirely possible) or there was something about my little brother that I didn't know.

Thankfully, Shinka's door was open. He liked getting air conditioning from the living room during the summer, since we didn't have central air at that time.

Peeking around the door, I could just see the heads of Shinka and Tim sitting next to each other, using my brother's bed to lean against. I couldn't see what they were doing, but neither seemed to be making the sounds I was hearing.

By now, I could tell the moaning was from a female. Since Kizuna was the only girl in the house, I knew she wasn't doing it — that is, unless she were an excellent ventriloquist.

Pushing the door open a little more, I could see most of my brother and his friend. They were both naked, and masturbating each other. That was when I realized they had to be watching some kind of porno on Shinka's television.

I pushed the door open and said, "What in the nine hells are you two doing?"

Moving like they'd been stung, both boys put their hands in their own laps and looked at me. I could see worry in their faces. If I were more of a sadistic bastard, I could have had a lot of fun with them.

"Well, Shinka, care to explain?" I asked, leaning against his wall casually.

He moved his lips but no sound came out. Tim just stared at me. We stayed like that for a few seconds until a squeak came out of my brother's mouth.

"What was that?" I asked. "You seem surprised, Shinka. I don't think it compares to my surprise at learning my brother is gay."

"I'm not gay!" he shouted in a squeak, standing.

I grabbed one of his shirts that was lying on the floor by my feet and threw it at him. I took another and tossed it to Tim. "Cover yourselves."

"Yuusou ... we..." Tim started.

"You sure did," I said. "I don't really give a fuck what your sexual preference is, but don't let me see you practicing it. You know, I'm very open-minded, I just don't necessarily want to see the things I tolerate."

"We aren't gay, Yuusou," Shinka said. He finally seemed to have recovered his proper voice.

"Right. That's why I caught you jacking each other off."

"Yuusou, just 'cause we were jacking each other doesn't mean we're gay," Tim said in a small voice. "We're just having fun, that's all. It doesn't really mean anything."

"You sure are having fun. Just like how you were using Terri for some fun, too, right?"

"How'd you figure out about that?" Shinka asked. "You know what? Who cares? She stopped doing stuff for us a long time ago."

"Yeah, because I suggested it. Shinka, you aren't half as clever as you think you are. So you get off being blown by your best friend's twin and by having him jack you."

"Like you're perfect," Tim said. "I'm sure you've tried stuff before."

"Masturbating? Of course. What boy hasn't?" I replied. "Well, unless he's a eunuch."

There was silence for a moment. The boys had identical blank expressions on their faces. I remembered then that I was talking to the two boys who insisted reading was for sissies.

Shinka shook his head, as if clearing the confusion out, and asked, "You really think we don't know what you and Kizuna have been doing?"

Tim added, "Yeah. How many times have you fucked her? I bet you get off in her every night. More than once."

As much as I wished that were true, I could tell a delay tactic when I heard it. "Like hell, Tim. I would never molest or harm my sister ... unlike you. You're both in deep shit and you know it. Stop trying to get out of it. So ... what should I do with this information?"

They both looked at each other. I could see the worry again.

Trying miserably to sound confident, Shinka said, "You can't do anything. We'll both deny ever having done anything and you can't prove it. It'd be two against one. Who are they going to believe, anyway?"

I shrugged. "I don't care about that. What about that signed confession from Terri, admitting to blowing both of you? Not only do I have that, but I watched her doing you, Shinka. And I'm sure Mike could be ... persuaded ... to confess to having seen her do Tim. With that, no one will believe you two if you deny this incident. If they weren't so conservative, they probably wouldn't even give a rat's ass about it, compared to what you did to Terri."

Both Shinka and Tim looked like they were about to cry, which didn't give me the satisfaction I thought it would. I could see my little brother was trying to think of a way out of this.

"Alright," Tim said. "What do you want?"

"Nothing. Just stop harassing me about Christianity and getting saved and all that bullshit. In fact, stop speaking to me altogether. And get rid of that damn tape. Burn it. I want to see the remains."

The porno had been running during our entire conversation. It had some buxom woman humping a guy with an impossibly large cock. The sight absolutely disgusted me.

Shinka picked up the remote control and stopped the tape. "We're going to get dressed, Yuusou, then we'll get rid of the tape, okay?"