Ever Elusive

By elsiie

Genre: Romance, Drama

Rating: T

Summary: The feeling that consumed her body and mind. It was probably something akin to…jealousy. Ryuu/Gyoku. AU.

Characters: Ren Hakuryuu, Ren Kougyoku

Chapter One - Morning Lullaby

From their house, one could hear the sound of waves crashing. For they lived near the sea, just before the sand began. It was soothing, Kougyoku had decided a long time ago. She wasn't sure if her siblings thought the same, but she was too afraid to ask them. But she assumed they did or they would've complained out loud by now.

However, this particular morning, all she could hear was a soft melody that filled her room and head.

It was fairly early as well, the sun was just beginning to rise, she observed from her window. So naturally, it puzzled her as to why there was a song playing so early in the morning. It wasn't necessarily loud, but it was quite intrusive, drowning out the sound of the waves.

Breathing a heavy sigh, she pushed down her bed covers and laid her feet on the cold wooden floor. As soon as she made contact with the cool surface, she immediately regretted it, feeling that familiar urge to jump straight back into bed. Nevertheless, the pink haired girl slipped her feet into her pair of slippers and walked slowly to her bedroom door.

By the time she made it to the hallway, the melody had intensified. It was most definitely coming from her house. Using her sleep addled mind, she tried to piece bits of information together, looking for a reasonable conclusion. Kougyoku recalled her brothers telling her (or themselves rather) that they we're going on a road trip for a week. She hadn't necessarily wanted to go, but she wished they had at least asked.

But that meant that she should have been alone in the large house.

And she was most certainly not, the now loud melody being the sole proof that there was someone else there.

It seemed to be originating from the guest bedrooms. She found herself wondering if it was an imprudent criminal. Perhaps she should have picked up a weapon, Kouha's baseball bat maybe. Too late now, her footsteps had probably alerted the criminal. As she predicted, the closer she got to the source of the song, the quieter it became.

With a tentative hand, she twisted the doorknob. It rattled a little, but opened without much trouble. The music abruptly halted.

"May I help you?" were not at all words a thief would use.

Her mind went blank at the sight of her younger cousin, by a year, standing in the middle of the room with a violin in his hands. One of his dark eyebrows was raised slightly. He was already in his clothes for the day, a white button up shirt and blue jeans – all very casual. Her eyes focused on the violin in his hand. That's right, I remember him winning some prize when we were young. To be completely honest, she had thought that he had quit a long time ago.

"Hakuryuu-chan…? What are you doing here? Where's your sister?" Kougyoku asked incredulously.

The dark blue haired youth set his instrument down gently and she found herself feeling impressed at his obvious care for an inanimate object. Impressed and amused.

"Hakuei went for a jog around half an hour ago," he then looked at her in a somewhat puzzled manner. "Don't you know why we're here?"

She shook her head. "I haven't been told – " She cut herself off suddenly, realizing that what she was saying made her sound out of the loop. Not important enough to be informed. And while that was the truth, she didn't really want anyone to know that.

Thankfully, her cousin didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he didn't show it.

"If you've forgotten, we're staying here for around a month because the house is getting renovated."

Nodding slowly, Kougyoku accepted his reason. That made sense. During the holidays, her cousins, now stepsiblings she supposed, never came to the holiday house. Even though it really wasn't that far from the large house they all usually lived in, they still decided not to come. Perhaps it's because of that woman…. Then, a terrifying thought decided to enter her head.

"A – and, what about your mother?"

Almost immediately, his face contorted into scowl. Then again, whose didn't, when Gyokuen became the conversation topic?

"Thankfully, my mother detests the ocean. She decided to rent out a hotel," he answered her.

She held back her sigh of relief. Thank god, I wouldn't be able to cope at all if she were here. This beach house was essentially her only escape from her stepmother. Although that was not the reason she always found a reason to stay, it might as well be.

Hakuryuu glanced at the clock. "I should go make breakfast."

"No, I can do…" she trailed off when he gave her a tender smile.

"It's the least I could do for letting us stay here."

Well, technically my brothers let you guys… Still, if she was in charge, it was not like she could refuse them – even with her distaste for Hakuei.

She followed him downstairs, glad that it was him that was making breakfast and not his sister. Because the last time she cooked, well, Kougyoku would rather not talk about it. She was positive that Koumei was still suffering from bouts of explosive diarrhoea.

"Is there anything you would like?" Hakuryuu slipped a pristine white apron, which had been hanging over the oven handle, over his head.

"French toast would be nice," she answered, a little in disbelief. Who would have wondered that she would be spending her Saturday morning by having her (younger) cousin cook for her? She took a seat on one of the stools by the kitchen bench.

Hakuryuu made his way over to the stainless steel fridge, which had been cleaned so well, it resembled a mirror. That would be the housekeeper, Kougyoku mused. He pulled out all the necessary components, taking a little longer than Koumei would, as he was unfamiliar with the layout, which was understandable.

"Where are the bowls?" He asked her, after setting the ingredients down on the bench.

Lifting a finger, she pointed to the cupboard over his head. He voiced his thanks before reaching up. It was brought to her attention that his dark blue locks were getting into his eyes. Every now and then he would impatiently brush his hair out of the way, only to sigh when they moved back into place. She was not sure whether it would be alright for her to keep watching him in a slightly voyeuristic manner. Kougyoku turned her head to the right, where the window that led to the beach was.

Still, she continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye.

He was a good cook, she would give him that (although everyone was aware of that). His movements were swift and each sway of his hand held some purpose.

"You would be the perfect wife Hakuryuu-chan," she giggled before hastily stopping – the words had escaped her mouth before she could stop them.

The boy laughed, "I suppose so…"

And she wondered if she had hurt his feelings. Men didn't like being called feminine in any way or form after all.

"I mean, like, you're good at things like that - " Kougyoku looked down at her hands, "I'm a little envious."

That…probably wasn't the best thing to say, she cursed herself. He was still mixing the eggs and milk together, although his pale blue eyes were focused on her. If he was unpleased with her blunt words, he didn't show it, his face calm and composed.

"I can teach you if you want."

She started, then began to wave her hands in front of her hurriedly, "N-no – it's fine – "

Her frail ego probably couldn't take being taught to cook by a boy younger than her, even if they were only a year apart.

One of his deft hands placed a piece of white bread into the milk-egg mixture, the other went to move the hair out of his eyes.

It must be really bothering him…

Kougyoku's own hand sat on the bench surface, her pink eyes drifted towards it and rested on the blue hair band wound around her wrist. She must have put it there last night and forgotten to take it off.

"Stay still for a second, Hakuryuu-chan!"

He looked at incredulously, but otherwise obeyed her. Kougyoku leaned over the counter and reached for his bangs. The boy's eyes widened in surprise.

"Wha – what are you doing?" sputtered her cousin.

Her fingers grabbed a hold of the locks of hair that seemed to be doing the most damage.

"Hang on a sec – done!"

And she sat back to admire her handiwork. Not bad, not bad at all. He, in the meantime, was staring at her with a look of utter disbelief. The realization that she may have been too pushy in her actions downed on her.

A creased formed between her eyebrows, "You don't like it?"

Hakuryuu moved his head from side to side, indicating a negative, his mouth forming a grateful smile.

"No, I do. Thank you, cousin." He gazed at her with clear blue eyes, the colour of the sky. "Really."

She felt her cheeks redden. Turning away, so he couldn't see the blush appearing on her cheeks, Kougyoku turned her attention back to the beach.

"G-good then. That's good." I just said that.

Then there was nothing but the sound of ocean waves crashing against rocks and the sizzling of something cooking in a pan. He didn't speak, so she was left to her own thoughts. The smell of French toast was wonderful, and she suddenly realized that she was hungry. It smells so good, Hakuryuu-chan is a great cook… She had stopped trying to not look at him, now openly staring, but he didn't seem to mind.

Finally, he set out the plates, placing two pieces of perfectly cooked toast on each plate. He finished off the dish by pouring a generous amount of golden syrup, dusting it off with icing sugar and adding slices of fresh strawberries.

By now, drool was threatening to escape her mouth, but because she was a lady, she held it back. Yet she couldn't fully hide the look of longing reflected in her eyes.

"It's done," he announced, sounding amused.

She quickly composed herself, before receiving the plate he slid to her. Ugh…it looks heavenly… Hakuryuu brought a stool around the table and sat down across from her.

"Thank you for the meal," they chorused.

Clutching the knife and fork in her hands, she dug in.

And was met with what was possibly the best French toast she had ever had.

The toast itself was soft, and fluffy yet still had a crunchy kind of texture to it. The golden syrup, icing sugar and strawberries were all very sweet, and for some people it might have been too sweet, but to her, it was perfect.

"Is it tasty?" Hakuryuu asked, tilting his head.

She nodded eagerly, her mouth full of French toast.

"Ah, that's great to hear," a relieved expression emerged on his face.

The two were then occupied with their meal. Kougyoku savoured hers, sighing dreamily as she popped piece after piece into her mouth. She didn't notice Hakuryuu watching her, an amused grin on his face.

The front door was opened then, slightly creaking as it did, before shutting lightly. Her older cousin walked into the kitchen, dressed in a pair of black tights and a sport singlet.

"How was your jog Aneue?" Hakuryuu asked, knife slicing into a piece of French toast.

"Refreshing," the dark haired woman's eyes drifted over to the bench and the two people seated there. "Ah, Kougyoku, nice to see you!"

Since Kougyoku was petty, she allowed herself to curtly reply with a short 'hello'. The siblings didn't seem to notice how she purposefully distanced herself from her elder cousin, and she wondered how anyone could be that oblivious.

Hakuei sniffed, "Wow that smells nice, did you make it Kougyoku?"

The seventeen year old stared down at her nearly empty plate before setting down her cutlery neatly. "Hakuryuu-chan did."

"Of course he did," Hakuei reached over to ruffle his hair, bursting into giggles when he ducked under her arm.

A/N Yup, this is going to be a multi chapter ryuugyoku fic. Because why not?