Notes
This is an AU about Shinya and Guren when they're 16, kind of prequel of Snow White and Byakkomaru and sequel of In Which Mika is a Lost Boy in a Dress. I'VE PROMISED ANGST AND THIS IS WHAT I'M GONNA THROW.
"Why Moonlight Sonata?"
Mahiru looked up from the music notes. "Because this song reminds me of Shinya."
"Why," he closed his book. "Do I remind you of a funeral song?"
She frowned. "It's not a funeral song."
"Sound like it is," He reclined on the sofa.
Ashen long hair flipped gracefully behind her. "Now, listen you uneducated swine," she pointed her finger at him. "Moonlight Sonata is a historical masterpiece of a song like a fantasy. You know about fantasy? Fullmoon has always been linked with fantasy and lunacy. And you, dear Shinya is a lunatic with fantastic hair."
"I should probably be offended, but you just called my hair fantastic."
She smiled at him. "Your hair is always beautiful, Shinya."
"How many poems have you written about my hair?"
"Oh, shut up." She rolled her eyes. "Also, the moonlight always shines through the night..."
Shinya glanced at her profile. The night had fallen outside, but the crescent moon bathed her hair in almost silvery shades. Her small hands held the violin in tight grip.
It had been four years since he came to Hiragi mansion. Both of them had grown, but at the same time they didn't. Their mansion had always been dark, but they always had each other.
For Shinya, Mahiru was the Earth he orbited.
"Sit tight Shinya, I'm going to slay this piece with my violin."
Shinoa had been sleeping for two hours.
The same amount of time he'd been lying on the bed, he absentmindedly caressed Byakkomaru's fur. Shinya didn't recognize his hands anymore. Too thin. Too pale. But Byakkomaru still looked as fluffy as the day Mahiru gave him, and the sight comforted him enough.
He should take a bath. He should call Guren and everyone. He should stand and get some food, because he didn't remember the last time he eat anything.
He didn't want to call Guren because he reminded him of what he lost.
He didn't have any energy left except for taking care of Shinoa.
His dear, little sister who would never see her big sister and mother anymore.
Shinya would never be with his other half anymore.
The cry woke him up from his nap.
Sluggishly he went to Shinoa's crib, her cheeks puffed while she screamed as loudly as she could. Really, for someone as small as she was, she had some lungs.
Shinya took her in his arms. "Shinoa-chan, what is it this time? You're not hungry again are you? Must be the time for diaper change."
Demanding baby sister, Mahiru sometimes called her fondly, had caused a fuss during the night. She seemed to be against sleeping, unlike her tired sister and brother. It was only in the morning that Shinoa slept soundly and both her siblings were already run ragged.
That was why Shinya and Shinoa were left behind and not going with Mahiru for her mother routine check-up. No one wanted Shinoa screamed their ears off again.
His phone rang just as he finished changing Shinoa's diaper. The ringtone meant that was a call from Mito, and as much as he didn't want to talk with her (she liked to yell on the telephone. His ears were hurt enough already), that girl was persistent.
Sighing tiredly, he picked it up. "Hello?"
"Shinya," Mito's tense voice heard. "Please turn on the TV."
He grabbed the remote. On the TV was a mess of police, helicopters and media coverage showing a Ferrari fell from a cliff, it was still burning but even without the white paint, Shinya knew it was his and Mahiru's favorite white sport car.
He couldn't hear anything anymore.
They were becoming sloppy, Guren thought.
He read the papers thoroughly, every evidence point out the same thing.
"The brakes were broken," Goshi said beside him. "It was a sharp turn, and there was a road construction."
"What's the name of the construction company?" asked Guren.
"It's called Kogan." He stroked his hair, "Not interesting, I know. Just a small branch of Hiragi corporation."
Guren pulled at his hair. Why the hell could they missed the signs? Why didn't they do anything before this happen?
He couldn't breath.
"Shinya said he and Shinoa-chan were supposedly in that car," said Mito.
Goshi cursed loudly, "they wanted a clean slate."
"Perfectionist aren't they," she snorted humorlessly.
First thing first, Guren took a deep breath. "How about the elders?"
"Run their heads ragged," Mito walked to the window. "After all, one of the possible candidates is murdered."
Murdered. Because none of this accident meant to be an accident.
"Mito, Goshi," He called them. "Keep looking but please be careful."
"Aye, Aye, Commander!" Goshi waved at him.
"Eat more, you look like a skeleton," was all Mito said.
But Guren wasn't a skeleton. He was living in the world where Mahiru wasn't anymore.
"Good evening, Mr. Heartbreaker!"
Bless Mahiru, who completely discarded the proper ethic of being a Hiragi heir by barging into his room and jumped on top of him.
His bones may be broken.
"So what's wrong with your new admirer?" she said carelessly while Shinya pushed her from him and trying to catch his breath.
"Too busty," he replied. He sometimes wondered why these girls never let him alone, what did they expect from him anyway? He was only thirteen!
"Awww," she grinned evilly. "Is baby Shinya afraid of mature women bodies?"
He glared at her. "Only those nightmare lumps of yours."
Mahiru hit his head.
"If you always act like that, you'll end up old in a house full of cats."
"I like cats." He said stubbornly.
She rolled her eyes.
"Guren looked very cool today." Shinya groaned, and here it was daily poems from Mahiru for Guren.
What he did in the past life to deserve this?
"It was almost blinding, he was even brighter than the sun itself."
He snorted. "The sun? Really?"
"Yeap," said Mahiru completely at ease. "Then again, he always looked like a prince from the fairy tales."
Sometimes Shinya didn't understand Mahiru at all. "Guren is certainly no prince," he shuddered just to think about it.
She eyed him in disdain. "You're just jealous!"
"I do not!"
"Sure you aren't."
"Whatever. I'm closer to be a real prince than Guren anyway."
"But you'll be a trapped prince," Mahiru said softly. "Just like me, a trapped Princess in Hiragi tower."
They fell silent as they watched the sunset.
"Mahiru," his hand touched Byakkomaru's ears. "Will we ever be free from here?"
Her head turned to his. "I'll try my best," she clasped his hand. "And Guren will free us from here. I know he will," she said with conviction.
Shinya smiled at her. For them, Guren was like the sun. As a hope that they can be free from their cages.
Their believe would never falter.
Then he smirked, "And then Guren will sweep Mahiru off her feet, ride into the sunset where they passionately kissed."
"Don't tease!" she pouted. "You'll understand when you meet your own sun. You will want to kiss them too."
"I don't want to kiss Guren." Just ewwww.
"Don't scrunch your face like that, your beauty will vanish." Mahiru pinched his cheeks. He glared at her. "Everything will be fine, I promise."
He believed her.
There was a small glitch in the Hiragi's mansion security systems.
It was also, the one Mahiru and Shinya exploited all the time.
He touched the vines on the fences. There were some signs of dirt and scratches from the years Hiragi siblings scaled the wall to escape their mansion.
Sometimes Guren would stand outside while waiting for Mahiru's whispers from behind the wall.
One time, Guren was standing there when Shinya jumped at him, sending them with a bang to the hard road while Mahiru giggled from on top of the wall.
He remembered all the time he caught Mahiru in his arms for their night meetings, or when they kissed softly before she went back to her mansion.
Or her voice, with their legs tangled together.
Now however, Guren grabbed the hidden rope behind the vines, he had two people to kidnap.
"Oi Shinya!" Guren knocked on the French window.
It was almost midnight, the mansion was dark except for some lamps scattered on the garden. Still, after cautiously ran to the main house and had to dangling onto the balcony, he rather felt like a cheap imitation of Shakespeare's protagonist.
There were some shuffling inside the room until the door opened to a bleary eyed Shinya clutching Byakkomaru. "What do you think you're doing Guren?" He yawned, "Reenacting Romeo and Juliet?"
Guren glared at him, "No." Never mind that he thought the same. "Where's Shinoa?"
"Sleeping inside."
Violet eyes stared at Shinya's form under the lamplight. His usually well-kept hair was a mess, his bones too pronounced, dark circles under those bloodshot eyes and there were tear tracks on his pale cheeks. Guren gritted his teeth. It was only 10 days since the Hiragi family isolated the main family's children and already, Shinya looked too small on his nightshirt, holding tightly onto his childhood stuffed toy.
"Get changed," he said. "Goshi is outside, we're going to get you and Shinoa out of here."
Blue eyes widened, "But where to? You know the elders monitored all my moves."
"I know," Guren walked to Shinoa's crib. Aside from her crib, everything in the room was a mess. It showed how bad Shinya was holding. "Don't worry about that. Let's just get out of here."
But Shinya didn't move. "Guren, I'm not going anywhere if it put everyone in danger."
"Shinya," Violet eyes locked onto the blue ones. "Just trust us, okay?"
He sighed, "If something were to happen I'm going to strangle you."
"Shinoa-chan is finally asleep." Sayuri dropped to the seat with a sigh.
It had been a rough night for everyone. Transporting the Hiragi siblings to Ichinose's house was difficult, not only Guren had to move quietly so Shinoa wouldn't wake up, he also had to bring along her gigantic necessities in a bag since Shinya was too weak to do anything beside walking alongside him.
Mito was already sleeping in one of the guest room after doing some paperworks, while Goshi slept on the couch with his laptop still on.
"Thank you, Sayuri. You could go to sleep now."
"What about you Guren-sama?" she asked.
He pointed at the paperworks and laptop in front of him, "I still had some things to do." Her eyes looked doubtful. "I'll go to rest soon after."
"Go on, Sayuri." Shigure put two hot cups of tea on the table, "I'll help Guren-sama."
Sayuri nodded at her, "Good night both of you."
Nights like these, reminded him of the days after his father execution for the small mistake he did, to teach other families of the power Hiragi family had over them.
On that day, 15 years old Guren became the head of Ichinose.
Days after blurred together. He didn't have time to mourn or the Moon Demon Company who pledged their loyalties for Ichinose would be on a stake. That time, he couldn't afford any small mistake.
Nights spent in the Ichinose's library. Where small swearing could be heard from Mito about anything frustrated her. Sleepy eyed Goshi clicking on his laptop. Sayuri's small mumbles while she read. Shigure's footsteps behind the bookshelves. And Mahiru would sit next to him, concentrated to look for anything that could help him while her left hand stroking her brother's sleeping head on the table.
It was only a year ago but it seemed life didn't give him time to grief on anything.
Shigure stretched on her chair. "Guren-sama, everything is done, it's time for us to rest."
"Ah yes," said Guren. "Go to sleep, I'll check on Shinya first."
She nodded, "Good night Guren-sama."
Last night, Shinya's temperature spiked up. It was no wonder, Sayuri looked horrified when she saw his feature, the guy looked more like a corpse than a living person.
He touched Shinya's forehead with the back of his hand. Still quite warmer than usual, his cheeks were flushed from his feverish state.
Hazy blue eyes opened, "Mahiru?"
His heart clenched, "Go back to sleep Shinya."
Pale hand touched his in weak grip. "Mahiru, I don't feel well," said Shinya in small voice.
Guren sighed, "You have a fever Shinya. Go to sleep and you'll be fine tomorrow." Or that was what he hoped.
"But I'm also cold." Pale lips pouted.
Guren cursed, what the hell did Shinya wanted him to do anyway? Burn the world so he wouldn't feel cold?
Then he remembered, when they were 14, Shinya got a fever after they shoved each other at the pool. It was a cold night, and they spent about an hour roughhousing in the water. No wonder Shinya got sick, although he felt fortunate enough not to get ill. Probably it was a revenge because Shinya was the one who shoved him first.
That time, everyone came to the Hiragi mansion to check on Shinya (and gloating, for Guren's case). On the bed were Shinya and Mahiru cuddled together, his head tucked under her chin while her right hand holding him close to her body and her left hand caressing his snow-white hair.
It was an adorable sight, Guren had to admit. Mito even swore she got cavities just by looking at them.
Now, Guren didn't know what to do with this predicament.
"Mahiru!" Shinya whined. Saddest puppy blue eyes looked at him hazily.
Guren cursed.
"Move aside," he told him. Guren snorted, they guy could only move an inch but he could still look smug in his pathetic state. Shinya was a natural born annoying little shit.
He maneuvered a bit on the bed and soon after a white haired head tucked under his chin, bony fingers tugged Guren's hand to the white strands.
Demanding little bastard, Guren thought. He stroked the snow white hair, the last time he caressed this hair was when they were five and Byakkomaru became the victim.
"Night, Mahiru..." a soft voice said.
Guren looked at the ceilings. There were things he had never told Mahiru, so many regrets he had about her. About his father.
Some things he wished he could say to them before they were gone.
How much he wished that he could protect the things he loved.
How much he wished that he could get the three of them out of Hiragi mansion.
Violet eyes stared the boy on his side, fresh tears on the pale eyelashes.
Well, he brushed those tears away. He couldn't save Mahiru, but he promised that he will do anything to get Shinya and Shinoa free of the Hiragi's clutches.
Notes
I was gonna put the reference about some stalker Vampire rather than Shakespeare but that would be too soon.