Ten minutes later, his siblings finally emerged from the line after purchasing the ingredients. They looked happy to carry the bags of groceries.

Daitaro watched Daiki avert his gaze. Was he still embarrased about coming? 

Masaru walked up to Daiki and offered him one of the bags of groceries. As the redhead accepted to carry the bag unwillingly, the green eyed one ruffled his hair and took the opportunity to hold the latter's hand with his now free hand.

Daiki looked slightly surprised by the action, so he gave him a questioning look. Masaru just smiled and pulled him lightly to encourage him to walk. Mitsuru and Daitaro laughed briefly at how Masaru was leading the other in his completely animated pace.

After a block, the children stopped to wait for the cars to pass. Masaru, who was still holding hands with Daiki, looked to the right and saw an old woman who was turning from side to side questioning something. The black-haired thought about it for a moment. Could it be that she didn't know whether she should cross the street or not?

He returned his attention to the street. It was a wide avenue, so cars came from both sides and even though there was a pedestrian crossing, it was understandable that an elderly person would have problems crossing it.

Noticing that something was on the black-haired’s mind, his brothers looked curiously at him.

“Is something wrong, Masaru?” Daitaro asked as he followed his gaze towards the old woman.

“Hey, do you guys think you can take the stuff to the apartment? I'll catch up with you later ". As soon as he said this, Daitaro frowned slightly, he didn't look happy.

"Huh? But…” Daitaro muttered awkwardly and unsure of what to say.

“Go home, I'll make sure of taking Masaru back home after this,” Daiki declared with the intention of giving his twin some peace of mind. Daitaro held Daiki's grocery bag and was silent for a moment; However, reluctantly, he sighed.

“Don't take too long,” the long-haired gave them an awkward smile. Mitsuru, now carrying more of the grocery bags, looked at them tiredly.

“So I had to babysit one and then the other…, Masaru, you better not stay helping the whole city block!” With that said, the blond gave a thumbs up to Daitaro, who looked like he wanted to cover his face. Not being able to do this because he was carrying the puppy and a grocery bag with his other hand, he just looked away.

Daitaro continued on his way to the apartment with Mitsuru, while Daiki stood in the corner watching them go.

“Don't drop the bags, Mitsuru!” Daiki shouted, knowing that he was very capable of that if he ever got tired.

“I won't do it as long as they don't rip!” The blonde answered as he raised one of his hands showing one of the bags.

Daitaro glanced at his twin out of the corner of his eye for a moment before returning his gaze to the front and continued walking. Just then, Daiki looked towards Masaru, who was already in the middle of the street helping the old woman cross.

Daiki hurried across the street and watched his brother saying goodbye to the lady after she gave him a 10 dollar bill while she thanked him from the bottom of her heart. Masaru smiled a little embarrassed by the woman's words, he did not want to accept the money since that was not why he had helped her; However, the old woman insisted that he accept it before walking away from him and wishing him a good day.

“Wow…” the green-eyed boy murmured while seeing the 10 dollars.

"What? It’s great that she gave you money, why do you look uncomfortable?”

"I don't know, I just wanted to help her cross... Now it seems like I did it with double intentions..."

"Does it really matter? She wanted to show her thanks like this…” Daiki made a mocking face. “Aren't you being rude by looking inconvenienced by the compensation? Did you expect her to give you more?”

"What?! I didn't even expect her to give me anything, I mean, I just helped her cross” Masaru scratched behind his head, obviously embarrassed. But you're right, I think the best thing is to just accept her good intentions and not think about it too much,” he added with an optimistic smile.

“Exactly, and I hope they continue to give you money, that's the least I expect when you spend a lot of your time helping,” said the redhead as he looked at the adjacent wall, which had graffiti that covered a large part of the surface, and shrugged his shoulders. "Should we go?" He asked as he returned his attention to his brother... Who had picked up some cans that were on the edge of the street, at the moment he was watching how his brother threw them into a trash can that was on the corner that was on the other end of where Daiki was.

“Hey, let's go already!” At the shout, Masaru responded with a 'Wait, I'm coming!' However, a couple stopped him to ask for directions..., or at least that's what it seemed to Daiki's eyes from the gestures his brother was making. 

Daiki narrowed his eyes in annoyance. Seeing the couple leaving and his brother saying goodbye, he ran towards him and grabbed his hand, now pulling him back.

“I said let’s go!”

“Haha, I'm sorry, it's just that thing after thing happens and I…”

“I know, but if I don't stop you you'd be left helping everyone you see for the rest of the day.”

"Huh? Don't exaggerate, I just helped the lady cross, picked up the trash and gave them directions. What's wrong with that?"

“Nothing, but like I said, if I don't stop you it doesn't seem like you can do it on your own” Masaru pouted as he heard this.

“You could help me and I would finish earlier”

"What? I wouldn't waste my day helping everyone I meet"

“Uhh… But I do help you and I even humor you when you start saying hurtful things to those who mess with you.”

“I don't force you to do it, you do it because you want to”

“I do it just because you’re my brother, oh, but I only do it when I think you are right and because I somehow get carried away when I am with you.”

"What does that mean?

“I guess it's kind of fun to humor you, boss.”

“And you have to call me boss every time…?”

“Only when I feel like I'm behaving like a henchman, boss, hehe,” Masaru replied, smiling from ear to ear.

Daiki sighed with a bit of annoyance.

"In any case, you being my brother won't make me help you when you're helping everyone."

“Wouldn't you have helped the old woman if I hadn't been there?”

“…” Daiki looked away at the question. "No"

"Huh? Why not?"

“If I had come on my own there wouldn't be an old woman wanting to cross in the first place. I don't know why, but these people only appear when you are around."

“Hahaha, maybe you don't realize how many people need help unless I'm with you?”

“Maybe, but really, these people appear by magic.”

“I see, heh.”

“You usually do what I ask you to do or join in what I do without asking you to.”

“Hm? Did it bother you that I said I wouldn't do it if I didn't think you were right? Hehe, don't think about it too much, it's fun to humor you almost always."

“And you don't feel like a henchman?”

"Yeah"

“Then why do you do it…?”

“You say it like being a henchman is a bad thing. It feels fun, you know I like villains”

“But the henchmen just follow orders without question…”

“Well, I'm a first-class henchman in that case,” Masaru commented. “I just think it's fun, boss.”

“You're not a henchman, don't call me boss.”

“Then what am I?”

“My brother only”

“Eh… That sounds kind of boring. How about ‘sidekick’ then?”

"What?"

“Okay, let's say I'm second in command when Daitaro is away,” Masaru stated. “But like I said, I don't mind doing whatever you ask me to.”

“...You don't mind doing anything people ask of you”

"What are you saying?! It is very different for a stranger to ask than you asking me to do something. I like to help, but if it’s you, it’s just fun."

“You are really weird… So if I asked you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?”

“No,” Masaru answered without hesitation.

“Would you steal something from someone?”

“Only if it is to recover something that was taken from you or if it is necessary”

“Would you hit someone?”

“You wouldn't need to ask me,” Masaru replied, making a fist and smiling confidently. He knew that if he had to hit someone he would just know and do it.

“Bury a corpse?”

“Sure, if you help me bury it as well, they must be very heavy.”

“Uh… Sticking gum in someone's hair?”

“Only if it's you-know-who, although Daitaro might get angry if I do.”

“Uh… It doesn't sound like you'd do whatever I ask of you.”

“I told you I'm a first-class henchman.”

“Stop calling yourself a henchman!”

“Ok, ok… second in command and a henchman trained to follow reasonable orders.”

“You're just my brother and that's it”

“Why does it bother you that I call myself a henchman?”

“...I don't know, I feel like that term suits Mitsuru more”

Masaru looked at him in disbelief.

“In what universe…? Haha, Mitsuru, a henchman? “Uh… Well, maybe if he thinks he's in a video game”

"...In any case! Don't call yourself a henchman, it sounds like you don't have a brain."

“Hmm… Does it by any chance remind you of the kids at school? I don't mind being your henchman but if you compare me to those kids then we have a problem. The henchmen are the villains' assistants and depending on how…”

"Wait! Don't start with a lecture about why they deserve respect! I get it, you mean you feel more like a professional henchman of some important villain.”

"Exactly! And I have to say, when you get all grumpy and are a jerk around other people even though you're defending yourself, it feels like I’m supporting a villain."

“Uh… I don't know whether to take that as an insult or not.”

“It doesn't matter, the important thing is that it's fun” Daiki looked at his brother suspiciously. His way of thinking was odd, but he wanted to believe that he didn't mean it with bad intentions...

The redhead looked at the graffiti from before and immediately smiled a malicious smile.

“Hey, what do you think of this graffiti?” 

“Oh?” The green eyed boy followed his gaze, he looked amazed by the painting. "It's huge! How come I didn't see this until now..., a giant eye with a 9999..."

“How about we do some graffiti later?” Daiki suggested.

“And it’d be right here?”

“Hmm, I was more thinking about doing graffiti on the house of one of those kids at school.”

“Uhh, I don't know, I know they deserve it but I don't think Daitaro will be very happy if he finds out,” Masaru said as he thought about this.

“How about we go out at night when he falls asleep? All that remains is to tell Mitsuru”

“What about the spray though? Daitaro got rid of the ones we had, didn’t he?”

"Uh... Well, we're still close to the store," Daiki suggested. Masaru pondered about this, he didn't seem very sure about that.

“But Daitaro took the wallet…”

“Didn't the old lady give you a bill?”

“You want me to use what the elderly woman gave me to buy a spray?” Considering this, Masaru looked reluctant. "I don't know, I already feel strange because I didn't expect her to give me money and for me to use it to vandalize someone's house... Even if it's the house of a boy who deserves it..."

"Come on! It’s a good opportunity now that Daitaro isn’t looking!”

“Why don't we beat one up at school tomorrow?” Masaru suggested happily. “I already wanted to hit the one that burned your books that one time.”

Daiki looked away in displeasure.

“Don't remember that, you make me want to scratch his house more, tch.”

“Look, I would be up to it if it weren't for the fact that the old lady gave me this money. I suggest we do something else."

“…” Daiki looked away, obviously displeased. “Why do you care so much about the use you give to that bill? She already gave it to you, it's already yours, you can do whatever you want with it."

Masaru sighed as he heard his brother sounding evidently angry and frustrated.

“And that's why I'm saying I don't want to use it for something like that. You are the one who wants me to use it…”

"But why not?! You would do it with another bill anyway! What you’re saying doesn’t make sense!”

“…” Masaru looked a little annoyed by listening to him. “Daiki, no matter how much you yell, I'm not going to say yes and I don't want to argue with you, it's like talking to a wall when you get angry.”

“Tch” Daiki turned around upon hearing that. “What a henchman you are.”

“Look, how about we buy the spray but use it to do graffiti somewhere else? There are graffiti focused walls in the city. I don't want to use this bill to vandalize but we can use it like this” Masaru suggested.

“…” the redhead walked away with the intention of returning to the apartment. He did not want to speak to Masaru, thus, he remained in an awkward silence.

Masaru sighed.

“You're just unlucky that you’re not with Mitsuru right now, but we can still do graffiti if you calm down!” The green-eyed one exclaimed as he jogged till he was side to side of him.

“Yes, you're right, Mitsuru may be an idiot but at least he doesn't say dumb crap like that” Daiki answered with great irritation.

“…” Masaru narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "I'm losing interest in doing the graffiti, but... Again, we can do graffiti where we are allowed to do it this one time and have fun, or well..., you can throw your tantrum and end up doing nothing"

Daiki pinched his dorsal bridge with his thumb and index finger expressing his annoyance.

“Shut up, I don't want to talk to you right now.”

“As you wish,” the black-haired answered as he walked next to his grumpy brother. Masaru knew that Daiki had problems controlling his anger, it was very easy to make him angry and it was difficult for him to calm down... So on one occasion when his brother was calm, Masaru had told him that to avoid useless fights, it was best for Daiki to tell Masaru that he didn't want to talk if he saw the need to say so.

It was impossible to reason with him and Masaru had taken it upon himself to let Daiki know that it was best for everyone if he just accepted it and said it. Of course, this had not been easy and it took him many attempts to get his brother to listen to him; However, Masaru had learned that there was no point in arguing with him and giving in to his tantrums was the worst he could do. Unfortunately Mitsuru still gave in when Daiki got too unbearable, but at least Masaru had a good idea of how to deal with him.

In Daitaro's case... Well, he had the luxury of not having to deal with that, because if anyone could control Daiki or put a stop to him easily, it was him.