Chapter Text
When his brother died, Souya didn't cry. It wasn't that he didn't love Shin, but they'd never been as close as brothers should be. Shin was ten years older than him, making them too far apart in interests, and after Shin was accepted into Border, he hadn't been home much anyway.
It wasn't a loss for Souya. If anything, his heart felt much lighter. (He should feel horrible thinking that, but he didn't.)
His days continued just the same, even if he found himself staying away from his parents. Their grief made him feel strange, and Souya never knew how to act the part of a heart-broken younger brother. Still, with or without Shin, his time kept moving without disturbance.
Until the day an odd man showed up at their front door, introducing himself as someone from Border. Without having much to say in the matter, it was decided that Souya would take Shin's place at Border, filling the hole left by his brother's death.
To his own surprise, Souya wasn't particularly bothered by it. As long as he could get away from Shin's ghost lingering in the hallways of the house he hadn't lived in for years, he'd do it. Even if he was to risk his life in the process.