From the scrapes and bruises
To the familiar abuses
I'll kick and scream but it never changes anything
I could spill my guts out
Wearing my best little girl pout
And I almost missed it
But nobody said that this was gonna be easy
Alibis- Marianas Trench
Chapter 2: Half Step Forward
Everything in his grandparents' home, from the artificial waterfall in the front garden to the antique clock in the main drawing room, sounds wrong. The dim lighting in the halls hurts Yukio's eyes, and the sheer amount of corridors and stairs is going to drive him insane. That's not even mentioning the various smaller buildings scattered throughout the grounds.
Considering the fact that his siblings have all been cursed with a poor sense of direction, Yukio has taken it upon himself to create a map of the property. He doubts it will actually help, but its the excuse he's giving if anyone asks why he isn't in the Main House.
He doesn't understand why they had to move to Japan. This is the first time he's been in the country since he was, like, ten or something and it shows. Apparently, his manners are so atrocious that his grandmother felt it was necessary to hire a tutor to run through proper etiquette with him and his siblings. So far, none of the lessons have stuck.
And now he's expected to attend some prissy, Japanese private school.
Just looking at his schedule pisses him off. He didn't choose any of his classes, and of course, half of them are business related. As if he or anyone else wants him to be the future face of the Oyama Pharmaceutical Company.
A breeze, light as a feather and crisp and warm, carries the faint notes of Shenandoah from the direction of the Main House. His fingers twitch, aching for the feel of strings and wood, and he finds his feet carrying him towards the sound. He ends up outside of an open window on the first floor, and he leans against the frame to peek inside.
The walls are painted with a mural of a zoo of all things, but all of the animals look straight out of a children's book, complete with enlarged eyes and exaggerated smiles. The group of penguins directly in his sight looks deranged, and the way they're posed at the edge of an iceberg makes it seem as though they're about to commit mass suicide.
In the middle of this terrifying imagery is Miyuki, her fingers moving gracefully over the strings of her violin. She's surrounded by closed instrument cases in various stages of wear, and Yukio spots his battered cello case leaned against a grand piano.
Miyuki notices him lurking, but she doesn't stop playing. Actually, she starts improvising, adding trills and inventing melodies that get further and further from the original song until she's doing nothing more than showing off. She even starts dancing, and Yukio can't keep himself from laughing and clapping along.
When she stops, Yukio applauds her wildly, throwing in a wolf whistle for good measure.
"Thank you." Miyuki gives a quick, practiced bow, eyes sparkling with amusement.
Yukio shrugs and pulls himself through the window. "You sound much better on the guitar." He frowns as his eyes land on an instrument he couldn't see from outside. "Since when do we own a sheng?"
"Grandmother bought it."
"Can anyone even play it?"
"It's supposed to be a decorative thing."
"Ah." He pokes it. "So… How'd the meeting go?"
"You mean the meeting you were going to attend with me?"
"I'm not sorry."
"Of course you're not." She sighs. "Grandmother and Father seem to believe I was the orchestrator of the Great Funeral Rebellion. Honestly, Yukio, the devil horns were too much. I told you to keep it subtle." She returns her violin to its case tenderly. "I'm naming this room the Melodious Menagerie."
"Please stop naming rooms. This isn't our home." Yukio sighs. "I was going to be subtle, but then you had to go and dress like mom's slutty ghost. I couldn't let you upstage me."
"Please watch your language, Yukio." Miyuki admonishes. "Either way, they believe such incidents can be prevented if they separate me from the rest of you. I'll be attending Lobelia starting next week."
"Well, then they're in for a rude awakening." Yukio pauses. "Wait, you mean we're going to different schools? Fuck that."
"Language."
"Fuck you."
Miyuki looks like she wants to keep fighting with him, but she forces herself to stop and take a deep breath.
"I don't like this any more than you do, but we have no choice in the matter. I was able to negotiate staying here every other weekend."
Yukio wonders what she had to give up in exchange but doesn't ask. He'd rather not know.
"This still sucks. Dammit, who's homework am I going to copy now?"
Miyuki snorts. "Looks like you'll actually have to study for once."
"Shit."
"Language." Miyuki scolds, but her voice is weak as she grabs his hand. "Just... promise me you'll keep Emiko and Hibiki out of trouble, and look out for them at school."
They've had a lot of problems, especially lately, but it's easy to forget all of them when Miyuki gives him her puppy dog eyes. They're such a rare occurrence that he's been unable to develop an immunity to them.
It's not fair.
"Duh." Yukio flicks her forehead gently. "Do you even have to ask?"
"Hmm…" Miyuki smiles, dragging him behind her. "I'm thinking of calling the drawing room in the west wing the Octopus's Garden."
"Stop."
"Welcome back Miyuki." Her therapist greets her with a bright smile. "How are you feeling today?"
"Hello, Dr. Soto." Miyuki forces herself to return it, the muscles in her face moving in a way that feels unnatural. "I'm fine, and yourself?"
"I'm well. Thank you for asking, though you didn't answer my question." Dr. Soto motions for her to take a seat. "How are you feeling?"
"Oka, I suppose."
"Have you been writing down your thoughts and emotions like I suggested?"
"Of course Doctor." Miyuki takes out her journal and looks over the past week's entries. All of them are utilitarian summaries of the days' events. A computer could have written them with more emotion.
Miyuki hands over the journal for to read. She allows the woman to read for a few minutes before asking, "are we making any progress Doctor?"
"It's hard to tell at the moment." Dr. Soto says as she skims over the entries. "These things take time and tend to happen gradually. You likely won't notice any progress we make. "
"I see." Miyuki debates telling the doctor that she doesn't believe her, but decides to change the subject instead. "I'm starting school again tomorrow."
"Your grandmother mentioned that to me earlier on the phone. We'll need to rearrange our sessions around your classes." Dr. Soto scribbles down a few notes as if to remind herself of the fact later. "How do you feel about going to school again?"
"Nothing in particular."
"What about your classes?
"What about them?"
Dr. Soto gives her an unimpressed look. "How do you feel about them?"
"I'll learn what I need to know." Miyuki shrugs. After a moment, she adds, "I don't have any music classes."
Dr. Soto sits up a bit straighter. "Would you like some?
Miyuki thinks about it. "I'm not sure."
"It's okay to want something, Miyuki."
"I know that."
"Do you really?"
"Of course Doctor." Miyuki forces a smile again. "I just don't know what it is I want."
Dr. Soto hums and scribbles a few notes. "Maybe your school can help you figure that out."
"Maybe." Miyuki finds her attention drawn to the window as a small bird flutters past. She watches it fly in and out of view, sometimes with bits of twig in its mouth. She doesn't even realize when she begins to hum, her fingers tapping an arrhythmic beat against the armrests.
"What is that you're humming?" Dr. Soto asks in a quiet voice as if she's walked in on a napping child.
"I'm not sure." Miyuki's answer is almost a whisper. "I think I dreamed it once. It gets stuck in my head from time to time." She waits for the bird to come back into view, but it never does. "We're not going to the same school."
Dr. Soto blinks as if coming out of a trance."Pardon?"
"My siblings and I. We're not going to the same school. They're attending Ouran Academy and I'm attending Lobelia Girls' Academy." Miyuki tears her eyes away from the window. "Since Ryuu has disowned himself and Yukio is actively working to destroy the Oyama Image, my father has decided I'm the best choice for an heir. He and my grandmother feel it's important I learn to be more independent. Lobelia has dormitories, Ouran doesn't; therefore, I'm going to Lobelia. Hibiki and Emiko won't know until tomorrow."
"I see…" jots down more notes. "Is being heir what you want, Miyuki? I recall you mentioning a desire to follow in your mother's footsteps."
"I thought we established that I don't know what I want, Doctor."
"Right... my mistake."
Miyuki looks back out the window, but the bird still doesn't return.
"I read somewhere that when rabbits get lonely, they die. Do you think that's true?"
"I wouldn't know. I've never studied rabbits or their behavior."
"If it's true, I wonder how many lonely rabbits have perished."
"Miyuki."
"Yes, Doctor?"
"Are you lonely?"
"Of course not." Miyuki thinks of her conversation with Yukio in the Musical Menagerie and smiles without thought. "I have my family."
Hello, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Please tell me your thoughts.
There's a link to the sheng and another for the song Miyuki was playing on my profile.
