>>5716129Your face pinches together and then your eyes snap wide open as you take a deep, sudden breath.
The hand that had been pinching your nose shut is pulled away.
Your eyes blink in turn as the blurry figure slowly swims into focus.
<span class="mu-g">"...Aki?"</span> you mutter.
Your younger brother, Nagata Aki.
Standing there, in his resplendent suit and carefully sculpted, blonde hair, he looks fresh out of a meeting.
Aki adjusts his glasses, <span class="mu-g">"You look like a mess,"</span> he says, <span class="mu-g">"Father did always say leaving for Tokyo was a mistake, didn't he?"</span>
<span class="mu-g">"...How did you...?"</span> you manage, things are still woozy.
<span class="mu-g">"Find you? Mother received a call when you were admitted and she called me,"</span> he replies.
Ah, yeah, your parents are still registered as your next of kin.
The hospital would've notified them.
You wipe sleep from your eyes with the back of your fingers, then glance at the clock: 7 PM.
Aki follows your gaze, <span class="mu-g">"I get here as soon as I was done with work,"</span> he says, <span class="mu-g">"Mother wanted me to check in on you, but I can see you're mostly fine."</span>
You prop yourself up a bit, leaning on your elbows, <span class="mu-g">"...Eh, yeah,"</span> you say, <span class="mu-g">"...I'm fine."</span>
<span class="mu-g">"I have a business dinner at a restaurant after this, so I can't say too long,"</span> says Aki, <span class="mu-g">"I've been looking for a new shipping company to ship all the produce from the farm, but these Tokyo stuck ups seem determined to pull one over me because father's farm happens to be in Ishikawa."</span>
<span class="mu-g">"...That must be rough,"</span> you say.
The medication isn't entirely gone from your system, making it hard to think.
Though your brother works with your parents in the family business, a large farm, you don't think he has ever gotten his hands dirty.
Instead, he handles the logistics, marketing, and sales.
Your brother takes a long, hard look at you, checks his watch, and then sighs.
He pulls up the chairs reserved for guests and sits down, <span class="mu-g">"Mother and father are worried about you,"</span> he says, <span class="mu-g">"You've been in Tokyo for years now and still haven't accomplished anything."</span>
You blink, <span class="mu-g">"I've been trying..."</span> you say.
<span class="mu-g">"Isn't it enough?"</span> says Aki, leaning on his knees, <span class="mu-g">"Time to call it quits, I'd say. Tokyo isn't the place for somebody like you. They're all depraved, work-addicted sociopaths. I know you went and studied in Tokyo, and that's fine, and that you want to start a career and all that, but aren't you done by now? How many more years are you going to pretend playing salaryman?"</span>
<span class="mu-g">"I've been promoted recently, y'know..."</span> you say, swallowing.
<span class="mu-g">"Yes, I heard from mother. Idol manager, was it?"</span> says Aki, then gestures towards you, <span class="mu-g">"How's that working out for you?"</span>
