Title: Virescent
By: Sei-chan-1999/Darkest Symphony
Summary: Subaru and Hokuto in a life left untouched by darkness or destiny. A few scenes about how two children learned the ways of the world around them.
Rating: K +
Disclaimer: All right to Clamp. I own none of the characters.
XXX
"Subaru-san, do you wish for a respite?"
Green eyes widened, cheeks flushed red and cropped black bangs fell forward into her grandson's ashen face at being addressed so formally.
The old woman watched as a more considerate member of the clan extended the offer, seeing that the kneeling boy before them was beginning to wriggle uncomfortably and that he was clearly exhausted after his journey.
"No," the nine-year-old said quickly, shaking his head and then caught his grandmother's stern eyes, "I mean, no, I will not be needing a respite. But thank you."
He had unknowingly said 'repsite' instead of 'respite' and now tried to ease his position, a Herculean task considering the voluminous shikifuku he was drowning in. He clasped his hands and listened demurely to the proceedings, even though she knew all too well that he probably only understood half of it.
As usual, the sight of the gloves adorning his hands sent a stab of icy chillness through her insides.
Everything was interrupted as the rice paper screen was roughly shoved open from behind them and a small dark head rudely peeped in, oblivious of the horrified stares and suggestive coughs. Subaru spun around messily, his eyes shining, a smile already forming on his small pink lips, as everything else bothering him was instantly forgotten.
"Subaru!"
It was a heart-rending shriek from the other child and then, the girl, dressed exactly like him, ran into the room and hurled herself on top of her brother.
Later, the clan would pay a huge bill for mending and cleaning the torn shikifuku's of the children.
They hit the floor together in a flood of rich cloth, messy dark hair, childishly wide smiles and rapid babbling that only they could understand.
They weren't mirror images of each other and people who said so were grossly understating what really lay between Sumeragi Subaru and Hokuto; their similarities and bond exceeded the power of reflection itself.
It was a flawless reflection and a stark duality at the same moment. It was something ethereal and celestial that would never be repeated again if it were ever lost.
For once, even the elders didn't object to the lack of decorum in the chamber and there was a collective sigh around the room at the sight of the children in their private world and the unconscious yet pleasant feeling around them that something was finally whole and blissful again.
He's going to cry, the Head thought with a sigh as she watched the twins caught up tightly in each other's arms and their faces crumpling from emotion.
To the collective shock of everyone in the room, Hokuto burst into tears first.
Subaru held her and carefully whispered to her, rocking her like she was the doll and he the puppeteer, and there was murmuring all over the room at the sudden reversal of roles.
It wasn't to last.
Ten seconds later, Subaru was sobbing too.
They were almost in hysterics as they clutched at each other, unwilling to let go after a whole traumatic year of separation and finally, they had to be scooped up unceremoniously and put down for a nap in the same bed.
They curled under the covers together, the curves of one's body complementing the other's perfectly, with tearstains still shining on their faces as they slept.
Yin. Yang.
The unequaled quintessence of balance.
Their Grandmother watched over their respite for the rest of the day.
XXX
Hokuto learned to walk first.
Subaru had been the first one to reach the wooden railing of the verandah and was dragging himself up with it, breathing hard and trying to wrap chubby fingers around it as his nose ran messily.
Hokuto was squatting on the ground beside him and seemed disconcerted by the fact that her younger twin was suddenly a lot taller than she was.
She grabbed the waist-band of his tiny shorts and pulled viciously.
Subaru fell down on his bottom with a 'splat', looking stunned and a little hurt.
However, all of that melted into a delighted giggle as his twin pulled herself up using the unfair momentum she had gained.
Hokuto took a single wobbly step.
The next instant, she lost her balance and was in Subaru lap as they both began to pull at the fuzz on each other's heads.
XXX
"What?" Hokuto chirped, opening her eyes and breaking the induced monotony in the room, a smile already cracking over her face and that mischievous little glint entering her vivid emerald eyes.
Subaru, distracted, opened his eyes and looked at his twin in confusion.
Their grandmother repeated the word in the incantation for the children. Hokuto only caught the last syllable of the final word.
"Bum?" Hokuto repeated innocently and then snickered, curling a finger into her hair while Subaru looked ready to melt right there.
The Head shot her granddaughter a disapproving glance but the six-year-old was sniggering helplessly and from the intensity of it, her grandmother knew all too well that there would be no more serious training that day.
"What is 'bum', Hokuto-chan?" Subaru asked curiously, pulling at his sister's fancy kimono as she laughed in that wolf-like fashion the Head had always considered unbecoming in a young woman of their class. Really, at times, Subaru was the more graceful and feminine one.
That was another thing for her to worry about.
"I can't tell you," Hokuto proclaimed proudly, and turning away, "It's a secret bad word in English."
If she had hoped Subaru would beg her to divulge the truth, she was sadly mistaken.
The boy simply nodded in revelation and began to hurriedly mutter the mantras they had learned that day, to memorize them.
Hokuto looked mortally offended.
"This is what it is," she explained with dignity and poked her brother in the very region she was referring to as he yelped and jumped, looking to his grandmother for help.
"Hokuto!" she snapped and the girl only grinned in a way that was almost feral.
XXX
Subaru walked into the room, his head in the clouds again until a piercing exclamation crudely jerked him out of his reverie.
"Come here right now!" Hokuto ordered her brother, wishing he wouldn't look that petrified. Really, she couldn't understand why Subaru was so terrified of a white-haired old woman who couldn't even chase them when they did anything out of line.
The boy stepped forward and began to greet his grandmother, smoothening out the clothes she had designed for him that day and hurriedly scanning the room to make sure it was presentable.
It was fine, apart from a stack of X-rated manga Hokuto had left lying out in the open, on purpose.
"Subaru," she snapped as their grandmother sat in the armchair and watched the drama in stony silence.
"Y…yes, Nee-san?"
"You know you are the head of the Sumeragi," Hokuto began vehemently, her hands planted on her hips.
"Yes, Nee-san."
It was more of a squeak than an answer and uttered like a question.
"And everyone calls you Subaru-san, right?"
"Um…..yes, Nee-san."
"Do you like it when everyone does that?"
She leaned closer to him and in her high heels, she towered over him, even though he was the same age as her; twelve.
Subaru shot a look at his grandmother again and looked positively harassed as he replied uncertainly.
"They can call me whatever they like," he offered, obviously deciding that that was the only diplomatic way to avoid the wrath of both entities in the room.
"I see," Hokuto mused, "Do you want me to call you Subaru-san?"
That question was more dangerous that an armada with every weapon on the planet.
When Subaru looked towards his grandmother again, her heart sank. If he couldn't even answer a single question on his own….if he had to look to the outside world for help to even tell them of what he liked and what he didn't…
…she could do nothing for him.
"No," Subaru replied quietly, surprising both her and their grandmother, who regarded him with outrage.
"Nee-san," he said just as softly and yet loud enough to silence the whole Universe, "I never want you to call me that."
There was something steely in his voice that took out the joy of being able to say 'I told you so' to the old woman seated on the couch.
"Please excuse me, Grandmother," Subaru said and bowed to her in apology.
The old woman got up slowly as Hokuto flounced out of the room, rolling her eyes. She stopped at the hallway, expecting a silent discussion between them about onyoudo or sorcery or exorcism where once again, she would be excluded.
That was her punishment; no matter what connected them, Subaru would never really be hers. She was an extra piece; something free that came with the original and could be cut out and disposed at will.
Instead, what happened next threw her into complete confusion.
Their grandmother gently rested a thin hand on Subaru's hair in a barely noticeable gesture of affection that vanished before it was fully realized. It was accompanied by the faintest of smiles and then, she was her rigid self again. She left the room, frowning the way she had when she entered it.
She caught Hokuto's green eyes when they met in the hallway and narrowed her own.
"I expect you to use proper etiquette when you address the Head of your Clan in public," she told the younger woman, but Hokuto was smirking inside too hard to care.
She could figure out how dramatically to butcher that rule another day.
XXX
"It's huge!" she yelled, spinning around in the empty living room as Subaru fussed about stupid and useless things like china dishes and the neighbors.
He knew her too well by then and didn't even try to stop her as she ran to the nearest bedroom and proceeded to jump on the bed instead.
He joined her after he finished unpacking their nightclothes from their matching trunks and boiled some soup in the kitchen for their dinner.
They held hands and bounced on the lumpy mattress, her screams overpowering his light laughter and it was easy to forget that they were both fifteen and nearly adults , isolated and unknown in the overwhelming and nocturnal city of Tokyo.
She collapsed onto the bed, out of breath and he left to get the soup.
That was when she let a tear or two leak over her face.
She knew all too well that they were on their own now; that she would be the one looking after Subaru as her brother looked after countless lost and angry spirits that needed his guidance.
He was still wearing the special costume she had designed for him that day and unlike her own, his was still immaculate and clean. That brought another lump to her throat and she swallowed hard.
Her brother would never be hers exclusively; she would get him to herself for a few moments after everyone else whose lives he came to touch had finished playing with him first.
And maybe, that was why she loved to dress him up so much. It was her way of telling everything, maybe even fate, that no matter what happened, she still had a hold over her brother's heart and body, or maybe a part of it at least, since he was sliding further and further away from her with each second.
The day Subaru stopped wearing her coordinated clothes would be the day he no longer cared about-
"The soup is ready, Hokuto-chan."
Subaru brought the bowl and spoon on a tray as she sat up quickly and smudged away her tears, ignoring her smeared make-up.
She flashed a smile at her brother as he placed everything before her, waiting for her criticism.
He had never cooked before.
"Ohohoho," she cackled, switching back to her originally jubilant mood with a speed that would've shamed lightning, "Subaru, are you learning to cook…for someone?"
He went crimson.
"Don't be like that, Hokuto-chan," he protested weakly, "I don't even know anyone here except for the gentleman I tripped in front of when-"
She spat the soup out and he jumped, looking stricken.
"You've put in sugar instead of salt," she said in dismay, looking at the steaming tomato flavored broth that was now a complete waste, "Subaru!"
"I'm sorry! Hokuto-chan, I'm really really-"
"Forget it," she huffed and pulled him close to herself so they could snuggle, "If you didn't have me around to cook, you'd probably starve."
"I could learn," Subaru argued.
"No," Hokuto snapped firmly, "That's not your job, Subaru. You're meant to do more. So get out there and do it and don't ever lower your standards because it gets too hard."
"I won't."
"Promise me," she demanded, sick of the way he complied with everything.
"I promise," Subaru said and his voice was a little stronger, but not by much.
They went to bed without dinner that night but before she could leave for her own apartment, he caught her by the shoulder and stopped her.
She whirled around to look at him.
"Don't-" Subaru began, then cut himself off embarrassedly before trying again.
"Never underestimate yourself," he said finally, unable to say anything more passionate than that and she took in his imploring green eyes and the way he clung to her instead, adding to the weight of what he was asking and trying to tell her.
"You're meant for more too," he insisted and she tilted her head to bestow a benevolent smile on him.
"That's me; Hokuto-chan, your awesome big sister who will always be there for Japan's greatest onmyouji!" she declared proudly and hugged him hard, "Get some sleep, Subaru. Tomorrow, we show this city a thing or two!"
"Why just the city?" Subaru murmured, closing his eyes and lying back on the rumpled bed as she smoothed down her skirt and prepared to leave, "Let's make it the whole world, Hokuto-chan."
Her jaw dropped.
It was so rare that he ever took on a challenge, a game or a bet…maybe this new life would be better for the two of them after all.
"The world, then," she agreed amiably and stayed by his side until he was fast asleep.
XXX
Author's Note:
This is something I wrote for a request from Freefoxyy on this site, who wanted a fic that had Subaru, Hokuto and their grandmother in it, with instances from their childhood and tough love. I hope you enjoyed and thank you for the opportunity!
I had fun writing this and learned a lot about Hokuto, a character whom I never had much feeling for before. I like her some more now and writing a requested fic was a great learning experience for me.
The title 'Virescent' is basically a word I found that means 'Green'.
Please read and review!