Chapter Text
“Children, I have a very special announcement.”
Esme smiled, looking at the Baudelaires with excitement.
“You are going to have a new brother!”
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A new brother meant that Esme was adopting another orphan.
It felt wrong to the Baudelaire children that the new boy would be referred to as a brother, as they didn’t consider Esme their mom.
“And even better, he’s a Japanese orphan! Japanese orphans are in.”
Esme had told them, excited to be taking part in another trend.
Violet raised an eyebrow at that. Japanese, huh? That means not only a cultural barrier but a possible language barrier, too.
“I thought you said just orphans in general were in. Not specifically Japanese orphans.”
Esme’s smile fell, as though Violet had just proven herself to be an idiot.
“Well, trends can have subcategories, darling.”
Looking over at a clock – with numbers in the Garamond font, which was in – Esme deducted that the boy should be here any minute.
“Jerome picked him up from the airport this morning. Aren’t you excited to meet him?”
The siblings nodded hesitantly. It wasn’t that they were annoyed that another boy was coming to live with them, but they knew whatever arrangement they would have would most likely be temporary. After all, either they had to get out of Esme’s house or they’d have to get Olaf out of the picture, which would be impossible.
Whoever this “new brother” was, maybe he could help them out of their predicament.
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The Baudelaires sat, sipping sarsaparilla reluctantly as they waited for the boy to arrive.
Klaus and Violet were tense, now stressed not only about Count Olaf but about the mysterious new arrival.
Sunny, however, was unfazed by the fact that another boy would be living with them.
Perhaps that doesn’t matter much to babies.
Sunny put the bottle of sarsaparilla up to her mouth as she held it with both little hands, but paused as she heard something in the near distance.
Huff, huff…
Panting.
That must be Jerome and the new boy, coming up the stairs.
Her older siblings immediately sat up, Violet grabbing Sunny and holding her with one arm. They were stiff and nervous, standing silently by the edge of the stairs.
Their experience since their house had burned down had been nothing but a series of unfortunate events. They couldn’t help but feel that whatever this boy could bring would be negative.
… But they calmed down instantly when they saw the boy. What had they been afraid of? He was small and looked polite enough, with wild hair tied back into a messy ponytail. He was in a little sweater vest and button-down shirt, dress pants, and fancy shoes to go with it.
He was wheezing softly, having trouble breathing after going up the ridiculous staircase that led up to Esme’s penthouse.
Sunny squinted at him, leaning her head on Violet’s shoulder. Klaus stepped forward first and said awkwardly:
“Nice to meet you. I’m Klaus. What’s your name?”
The boy was surprised to hear the familiar language. He’d been told the American kids would only speak English. He smiled excitedly, then bowed his head quickly.
“My name is Nagito Komaeda, it’s a pleasure.”
The sisters glanced between their brother and the new boy, looking at Klaus like he was a specimen exhibiting strange behavior – which to them, he was.
Klaus smiled, a little nervous, and motioned to the girls behind him.
“This is Violet, and Sunny.”
The boy bowed his head again and smiled warmly when he saw Sunny.
“She’s so cute! What an adorable face.”
He walked over to her and cupped his hands on her chubby cheeks. Sunny scowled at him, feeling patronized.
Esme’s heels click-clacked as she trotted into the room, putting on her biggest smile to greet her new, trendy “son.”
“Oh, hello, my dear Nogoto! So nice to have you living with us. You really are so…”
She looked him up and down, and somehow her grin grew crookeder.
“Cute.”
The boy just smiled at her, having no idea what she had just said, but hoping it was good.
“Now, Baudelaires, why don’t you give him a tour of the place? Help him feel at home.”
Jerome suggested, motioning around the giant penthouse.
Violet raised an eyebrow, looking at Jerome.
“Isn’t it usually the owners of the house who do the tours? We’re not really used to this place yet, so–”
“Now, darling, I’m sure you’ll do great giving a tour. Besides, Jerome and I have to stay here; I’m expecting Gunther to come over.”
Gunther. That was Count Olaf’s new disguise. Maybe it would be good for the Baudelaires to give a house tour instead of staying right where Olaf could see them.
Klaus and Violet shared a wary look before forcing a smile and leading Nagito into another giant room that seemed to have no different use than the living room they were just in. Oh, the peculiarities of the extremely rich.
While they walked, Violet whispered to Klaus:
“You can speak Japanese?”
“A little. I picked some up while I was reading a book on Japanese grammar structure, but I really only learned the basics.”
“Better than nothing.”
Violet smiled, grateful that no knowledge ever seemed to leave her brother’s mind.
Nagito looked up at the high, gold-patterned ceiling and the antique chandelier adorned with rubies. He let his hands drag along the walls, feeling the soft wallpaper against his fingertips. He paused in his tracks, reminiscing. Esme’s house reminded him of his old home with his parents.
The Baudelaire children noted the pause and hesitated as well. They stared at him in silence for a moment, recognizing the bittersweet look on his face. They could feel what he felt. After all, he was an orphan like them.
Klaus took a breath before stepping closer to Nagito, a reassuring look on his face.
“Nagito, right? Uhh… We didn’t catch your age, did we?”
The white-haired boy snapped out of his daydreams and looked up at Klaus, a dreamy look lingering on his face.
“Ah, I guess not. I’m eleven years old; my birthday was in April.”
Klaus smiled. He hadn’t understood the birthday part, but he caught that Nagito was the same age as him.
“I’m eleven, too.”
Nagito’s face lit up, feeling excited. It had been a while since he’d been around a kid his age.
“What about your sisters?”
“Um… Violet is fourteen, and Sunny is one and a half.”
Hearing her name, Violet smiled and waved tentatively. Sunny copied her big sister, though her wave was more of her flailing her arm around than anything.
“Do your sisters speak Japanese, too?”
“Do my uh… They…”
He paused for a bit, not quite sure what Nagito had said but making an educated guess.
“They don’t.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. I don’t really speak English, and–”
The boy stopped himself and looked over at the door as he heard sounds of excited chatter. That must be Esme, greeting “Gunther.”
The Baudelaire siblings tensed up as they heard the all-too-familiar voice. Even with the fake accent he put on, they could recognize it from a mile away.
“Miss Esme… Is pretty loud.”
Nagito mumbled, looking from the door to Klaus.
“But she seems very nice. I’m happy to be living here now.”
Happy to be living somewhere… That was something the Baudelaires hadn’t felt in a long time.
Hopefully, Nagito’s happiness wouldn’t be short-lived.
But one can only hope.