“Ken! Hey, Ken, get up already!”
Ken yawned and slowly sat up, awakened by a voice and the feel of someone kicking the bottom of his bed. For a moment he wondered at the voice, then everything came back to him in a rush and he leaned over on the edge of the bed to look at his brother, who was nonchalantly kicking the bottom of Ken’s bunk.
“Onii-san!” Ken smiled at him and Osamu frowned.
“I’ve told you a hundred times, Ken, don’t lean over the bed like that,” he said. “You’ll fall again.”
“I won’t fall,” Ken promised, but Osamu shook his head.
“You fell yesterday,” he reminded his little brother. “Now stop that and sit up before you lose your balance.”
Ken dutifully sat back up and moved towards the side of the bed, dangling his legs over the edge.
“Do you mind if I jump down, Osamu-niichan?” he asked idly. “It’s not that far.”
“You’ll land wrong and break an ankle,” Osamu said warningly, though his voice had lost its stern quality and had become a bit more playful. “Or you’ll jump too far and break your neck.”
“Is the ladder okay, then?” Ken questioned. “Or will I slip and break a toe?”
“Nah,” Osamu said with a perfectly straight face. “You’ll get a splinter.”
“I guess I’ll have to stay up here all day, then,” Ken said. “Mama can call the school and tell them that my big brother won’t let me get out of bed.”
“Considering who your big brother is, they’d probably let you get away with it,” Osamu said dryly, getting out of bed himself. He headed towards the door. “Coming? Or should I bring you breakfast so you don’t kill yourself getting down from there?”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Ken promised. Osamu shrugged and left the room. Ken stared after him, feeling more hopeful than he had the night before.
Yesterday was just a bad day, I’ll bet, he thought. Things will be better today. Osamu doesn’t seem mad at me today. I don’t know why I was so worried.
Ken made his way down the ladder, careful not to get any splinters, then headed into the kitchen after his brother.
Osamu was already halfway through a slice of toast when Ken walked in. He had barely sat down when his mother handed his own plate of toast. Ken reached over to grab a piece but was stopped by his mother’s careful hand on his head.
“Hold still, Ken, I want to get a look at your cut,” she said.
“I’m fine,” Ken muttered, though he was secretly pleased at her concern. Perhaps yesterday really had been a fluke...
“If you say so, dear.” Mrs. Ichijouji reluctantly let him go and headed into her bedroom to get ready for work.
“The weather forecast says it’s supposed to rain this afternoon,” Osamu said.
“Hmm?” Ken glanced up at him, mouth full of toast.
“If it’s raining, I won’t have soccer practice,” Osamu elaborated. “If that happens, how about I stop at your school and walk home with you?” He was still feeling bad about the way he treated Ken the day before and wanted to make it up to his brother by being nice to him.
“That would be nice,” Ken said, swallowing.
“Good.” Osamu stood and walked past him, ruffling Ken’s hair as he went. “I’m going to go get dressed. Don’t eat too slow or you’ll be late for school.”
“I know that,” Ken said brightly as Osamu left the room. He leaned back in his chair and smiled. This was the way he had imagined things. He was happy and Osamu was with him. The only continuing dark spot was the absence of Wormmon, but Ken was still holding on to the hope that he would be called to the Digital World again.
Ken finished his breakfast just as Osamu emerged fully dressed from their room. Ken hurried to get dressed himself before heading off to school. Osamu walked with him part of the way, and consequently the two had to fend off reporters at every turn.