"Aniki, couldn’t you have gotten Saeki-san to practice with you?"
Yuuta asked.

The complaint was for form’s sake, and his brother’s smile said that he knew
it perfectly well. Still. Their… reconciliation… was new enough that
Yuuta would have preferred some time away from potential irritants and interruptions.

"Ah, Fuji-kun, what marvelous timing you have. One was hoping to introduce
you."

Interruptions like that. Yuuta sighed, resigned, and then had to take a second
look at the person who had hailed his brother. He didn’t think he’d ever
seen anyone dressed quite that flamboyantly outside a festival. Or, possibly,
a circus. He was busy enough looking at the top hat that it took him a few
moments to notice that his brother had paused beside the strange person,
and was now standing on Yuuta’s other side.

Between him and the strangers. Yuuta took a closer look.

There were, in fact, three of them. The other two looked far more normal. A
young man and woman, both blond and looking alike enough they had to be related.
So what was it about them that was making Aniki tense up?

"Friends of yours, Hatter-san?" his brother asked the oddly dressed
one.

"One rather doubts it," the Hatter person answered, serenely. "Fuji-kun,
this is Mudou Setsuna, erstwhile Messiah, and Sara, his…"

"Girlfriend," Setsuna put in, very firmly.

"Of course," Hatter murmured, "and this is Fuji Shuusuke, and
his brother, Yuuta I believe it was?"

"Yes." Aniki’s smile was starting to sharpen.

So, Yuuta tallied up in his own mind, this person who seemed to know his brother,
and who his brother seemed a little wary of, wanted to introduce them to
a couple who looked remarkably like relatives. He swallowed hard and tried
to keep breathing.

"Aniki," he managed, "who is this?" And, more importantly,
what did he know?

His brother stepped a little closer to him. "This is Mad Hatter. He’s
a demon."

Yuuta turned his head to look at his brother, who appeared to be serious. "A
demon?" he repeated, just on the off chance he’d actually misheard.

"Quite," Hatter agreed. And a pair of black wings unfolded behind
him.

Yuuta stared. "Aniki," he said, very calmly, "what did you put
in my juice this morning?"

"One does assure you, it wasn’t your brother," Hatter assured him,
waving one wing.

"A demon," Aniki reiterated, "who isn’t going to be having anything
to do with you, Yuuta. Is he?" Hatter was now on the receiving end of
a very dangerous look.

He didn’t seem concerned.

"Ah, siblings," Hatter sighed. "They’re so precious." He
fanned his wings. "And entertaining. Why don’t the four of you have
a nice little chat, then? One is sure it will be good for all of you."

And then he sank out of sight into his own shadow. Yuuta stared at the sidewalk
and reminded himself that it wasn’t healthy to hyperventilate.

"So," Setsuna sighed, running a hand through his hair, "you’ve
met Hatter before?"

"He can be entertaining company," Aniki observed.

Setsuna blinked at him for a moment before he burst out laughing. "I’ll
stop worrying, then!"

Sara swatted his shoulder. "Setsuna, cut it out. Maybe Fuji-san didn’t
know what he was getting into." She gave them a bright, sympathetic
smile, and Yuuta relaxed in spite of himself. It might be nice to talk with
her sometime, actually. If he was reading the situation right, she might
understand a few things.

"You think?" Setsuna asked, raising a skeptical brow. "I
bet he did. He’d probably get along with Hatter’s boss, too." The thought
seemed to amuse him.

Sara planted her hands on her hips. "Enough of that! You said you’d wait
until we were both reborn to start playing politics with everyone again."

"Right, right," Setsuna raised his hands, placatingly. "Anyway,
I think we’ll probably see you at Nationals, Fuji."

"Really?" Aniki sounded only mildly curious, and Yuuta sighed. Some
day, he’d figure out how his brother did it.

Setsuna grinned. "I’m a friend of Tachibana’s."

"Small world," Aniki commented in an amiable tone.

"Gettin’ smaller every day," Setsuna answered ruefully over his shoulder
as his… sister?… towed him off with great determination.

"Are you sure we can’t have a nice, calm day inside?" Yuuta asked,
looking straight ahead, just in case any other weirdness was strolling by.

His brother laughed, softly. "That might be a good idea after all. Come
on, let’s head home."

End