Thanks for your support, I love reading your comments! I have made a banner for this fic, but I can't find a way to let you see it, since ff net doesn't allow me to link photos. If anyone knows a way, do tell me :) I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.
3
The Piano Teacher
There was a comically tense atmosphere in the office, as Rin's eyes kept dubiously bouncing between the green file in his hands and the preppy young man sitting across him. Next to him, Sousuke, looked even less amused, arms folded on his chest level and bodyguard aura oozing from his nostrils. Meanwhile, seated with his hands crossed on his lap before this unexpected Inquisition, Tachibana Makoto was smiling awkwardly, like an unsuspecting bait thrown in a sea of sharks. But somehow, with every suspicious glare at him, his face turned even brighter, making Rin fluster and scan the file even more thoroughly for a potential blemish.
"Mr Matsuoka, if my name is somehow the problem..."
"Excuse me?"
Rin was practically peeking over the large, paper folder now, inwardly cursing the moment he agreed to his sister's whims.
"I can't help but notice my CV has caught your attention and I'm well aware that, sometimes, my name may cause confusion and misunderstandings" Makoto elaborated in the most gentle voice "It's been like this since my childhood, so I'm used to it. I just hope this is not the case with..."
"No no..." his own voice came out like a rushed squawk and he had to pretentiously cough to clear his throat. " Nothing confusing about your name, Tachibana. It's just a very interesting CV."
A stifled snort escaped Sousuke and , behind his sharp, sardonic grin, Rin was already practicing a hundred ways of strangling him.
"Despite your age, you studied near prominent pianists in London..."
"It has been a blessing for me, sir."
"...and you're pretty humble about that. According to these papers, you spent your childhood in Cornwall?"
"Yes, that's correct. My family still resides in a pretty, coastal town down there."
"Ah, but Kent is quite far from Cornwall, surely working somewhere closer to your family would be more suitable for you? You see, I expect my sister's instructors to be available at short notice and certainly not have to disappear for long periods."
"That won't be a problem at all, sir. I've recently rented an apartment in the nearby town, here in Kent, as I have two more students in the greater region. Besides, I've been living on my own for the past three years, without that causing trouble in my family. I make sure to visit them whenever my job permits it, our bonds are quite strong."
A courteous, family oriented man. That was the last person Rin needed tailing after Gou's skirt right now.
"Here it says that swimming is among your hobbies?"
"Blame the Cornish summer, mr Matsuoka."
A courteous, family oriented swimmer. He could practically picture his sister idolizing this man and gawking at his muscles already.
"I am going to be straightforward with you, Tachibana. Your wage will be roughly one shilling per hour. Also, transport costs from and back to the town, will fall solely on you. Delays, cancellations and lack of progress when it comes to your work here, will reflect on your payment. And another thing. Music is not important to me. But my sister's happiness is. So let me put it this way; I expect a smile on her face every time your class ends. In other words, if you are not..."
"I'm fine with all these conditions, sir."
That definitely wasn't the answer Rin was aiming for. His grin slightly faltered and his grasp tightened around the green binder.
"Did you really listen to everything I just said?"
Makoto's face was bathed in a calming sensation.
"Every single word. I understand the restrictions regarding my salary, England is only now starting to recover from the crisis. As for your sister, rest assured, I have younger siblings as well so I can relate to the protective feeling."
When Rin sensed Sousuke's irritation stabbing him out of the corner of his eye for the umpteenth time, he decided he had to purge his own guilty conscience somehow. Standing up, he spurted an apology to the hazel-haired teacher and, grabbing the sulky whale-shark by his arm, he dragged him to a corner a few steps away.
"Look, stop doing that" Rin quietly seethed through gritted teeth, while stealing glances at Makoto. "I can tell what you've been thinking, but how the hell should I know the teacher was a man? The letter said 'Tachibana Makoto', anyone would assume that's a freaking name for a female!"
"Yeah, as if your own name hasn't been an indication all these years. Perhaps you should have thought of that and, I don't know, take a wild guess?"
"Watch it, Sousuke. I am trying to discourage him, as you noticed."
"And it's working smoothly so far..."
"I swear to God, you're lucky we aren't alone in here."
While the situation inside the stately home office was turning rather complicated, outside its heavy, timbered door, curiosity was running rampant. With his knees bent and his breathing hushed, Nagisa was glued on the keyhole, trying to distinguish faces and feed his natural desire for gossip. Right beside him, Gou had placed her ear on the burnished wood as soundlessly as possible, in an attempt to eavesdrop on the meeting her caprice had triggered.
"Nagisa-kun! This is completely inappropriate!"
The low snarl behind their backs almost caused them to lose their balance.
"Jeez, Rei-chan...Say it a bit louder and we might indeed get in trouble."
"If you didn't want any trouble, you shouldn't even be here spying on Rin-senpai in the first place."
"Why you're only scolding me? Gou-chan is doing the same!"
"Well, it's true, the young mistress shouldn't be here either..." Rei drew out his words, looking warily at the redhead maiden.
"Oh come on, Rei! I just want to hear what my brother is planning to do, they are talking about me in there you know."
"Still, it's unseemly for a lady to snoop around like this. If Rin-senpai finds out, it will be my responsibility for not watching you over. And you, little blond devil, you should return to your work. Instead of luring Gou-san into your mischief, you should be setting an example!"
"Hey, it was her idea!"
"Omph, you're a killjoy Rei" Gou finally gave up "let's go, Nagisa."
Rei fixed his deep purple tie as he watched them walking away. As soon as the hallway was empty again, he glanced sideways at the closed door and pursed his lips thoughtfully. A tiny bead of sweat trickled down his temple, and two seconds later, he was leaning carefully onto the door.
"Great example, Rei-chan!"
The butler tottered to the side and placed a hand on his chest startled. Gou and Nagisa had just sprung behind him, their sly faces taunting him for his reaction.
"You almost gave me a heart attack. I was just cleaning the silver knob, it's dusty and smeared with fingermarks."
"Yeah yeah, I'm sure that's what you were doing. Now move your cute butt a bit, so I can take a peek again."
"Hey, stop pushing me, the door is wide enough for all!"
"Shush, you both!" Gou intervened, smacking them lightly on the back of their heads "If you keep it up, my brother is going to catch us for sure. Nagisa-kun, can you hear what they're saying?"
"It's too hard. I can see the teacher's back , but Rin-chan and Sou-chan are standing into a corner further away for some reason."
Rin raked a hand through his scarlet mane and briefly checked out Makoto once more. The handsome young bloke was sitting quietly all along , avoiding eye contact to allow them some privacy, like any polite gentleman would do. However, his tight arms around his rust brown briefcase were an indication this secret discussion they were having - rather rudely - before him, had carried on for too long.
"So what you intend to do? You're going to keep him, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I actually think he deserves a chance. I mean the man is a pianist, was raised in the countryside by a traditional Japanese family and loves cats. I'm not joking, that's what he wrote in his CV. What kind of a threat could he possibly pose?"
"Don't look at me, you're the one who turns paranoid every time."
"Oh I will keep a close eye on him, actually on both of them, during those music sessions, have no doubt about that. Come on, Sousuke, as if you don't know me already."
"Right, last time you said that, you were supposedly about to hire a female teacher."
Sousuke put an end to their clandestine tête-à-tête and approached the mullioned window. He didn't spare but a brief, baleful glare at Makoto's direction, before leaning against the metal frame and letting his sapphire gaze sail over the world outside. Anyone in Makoto's place would have shrunk in their seat under this unwelcoming ambience, but the hazel haired man didn't utter a word and his expression remained hopeful as Rin came closer.
"Please excuse my friend's manners, he is what we call 'socially awkward'. Now, to the matter at hand...I believe we may have a deal, Tachibana."
Makoto's face heartened at once.
"I'm going to entrust you with my sister's musical training. I believe a two-hour class every Saturday will suffice for now?"
"Thank...thank you, sir! I assure you, I'll do my best, you won't be disappointed. And yes, that sounds perfect."
He stood up and cordially shook Rin's hand, percolating with happiness.
"If I may ask, mr Matsuoka, I'd like to begin the piano lessons today."
"Today?"
"Yes, if possible. It will only be an introductory session, allowing me to meet my new student and outline a teaching schedule according to her needs."
"I suppose you have a point. Let me introduce you then to my sister." Rin's perfectly sketched lips curled up to a smug smile "Gou! Quit hiding, you may come in now! Oh, and tell those two little slackers to return to their posts before I change my mind."
The door slid open slowly, revealing an embarrassed, young girl with a charming, burgundy ponytail and eyes vibrant like red wine, a sublime copy of her brother's pair. She timidly stepped in and, despite her flushed cheeks, her singsong voice was a pleasant ripple through the rigid atmosphere.
"Nice to meet you, Tachibana-san!"
Rin had insisted on being present during her first piano lesson, but Gou would hear nothing of it. Stubborn as he was, he had offered an array of suggestions, from him discreetly reading a newspaper further away from them, to him staying just for a short while in order to relish a beautiful sonata. He had to back down though, as soon as Gou threatened to continue their following sessions in Makoto's apartment instead. But like a true, overprotective Matsuoka, he didn't knuckle under his sister's wish for privacy. On the contrary, the time had come to draft his loyal butler. Rei listened carefully before showily steadying his red glasses and flashing him a complacent smile.
"Leave it to me, Rin-senpai."
And that was all Rin needed to hear.
The coral rays of the afternoon sun fell slanting through the wide, bay windows of the main hall, allowing the natural light to sparkle off various hues of brown, as it caressed the furniture. Makoto's fingers grazed the piano's keyboard almost ritually, reveling in the sensation of old, ebony wood under his palm.
"This is one of the finest pieces I've seen. They don't make grand pianos like this one anymore."
"Yes, it's beautiful."
"You really think so?"
Gou sighed and gave him an adorable pout.
"No, actually I know nothing about pianos, or instruments in general. But I'm really eager to learn. Their sound makes my mind travel to lands magical and unknown."
"We shall travel together then."
A furious blush crept on her pearly cheeks and her awkward chuckle met nothing but honesty and warmth on his face, when a knock on the door stole the spotlight. In a rather formal way, Rei strode in, carrying a silver tray with a porcelain tea set, depicting a beautiful Chinese landscape from the High Qing era.
"Rei, why are you serving tea? It's already past that time."
"We haven't treated Tachibana-san with anything but water. A cup of nice, aromatic tea should be the minimum of our hospitality."
Under Gou's suspicious watch, Rei filled a teacup with black English tea, added milk and one spoonful of sugar in accordance with Makoto's taste, and graciously offered it to him. The polite teacher accepted it with excessive gratitude.
"How is it, sir?"
"It's splendid, thank you."
"You should definitely dip these cinnamon cookies in. I personally buy them from a traditional cake shop in town. It's..."
"He will Rei, he will." Gou interrupted him with a hint of annoyance. "Thanks, you may leave now."
"If the young lady or the gentleman need me, I'll be right outside". Rei bowed respectfully and left with the same finesse he had initially appeared.
"Your butler is very attentive."
"I might just have an idea who's behind all this attentiveness, but never mind."
They continued talking about music in zest. She was like a restless sailor, eager to explore this new horizon expanding before her. She wanted to know about his studies, as well as his own experiences in the melodious world of Hegel's fourth art. And Makoto delightedly answered every single question her inquiring mind moulded. They were gleefully laughing at his ordeal the first time he had to perform in front of an audience, when another knock on the door hindered their mirth. This time, Rei barged in more hastily.
"Rei, what exactly you're doing?"
"Tachibana-san can't leave without trying our home brew sake."
"I'm sorry, but I don't really drink alcohol."
"Oh but it's homemade, much different from what is sold in the market. We flavour it with cherry essence from our own cherry orchard too."
"Rei, he just told you he doesn't drink!" Gou was fuming, her scarlet eyes turning into balls of fire.
"Just one sip then, I'm sure he'll change his mind." Rei poured some sake into a traditional, ceramic cup and almost shoved it into Makoto's bewildered face.
"He doesn't want any!"
"Please no need to argue! I guess a bit of good, old Japanese nectar won't do any harm?" Makoto raised his hands, desperately trying to mollify the spirits. But as soon as he gulped some of it down, wild embers engulfed his jade eyes and he started coughing.
"Great, you choked him!"
"That's an exaggeration, my beautiful lady! At first, the taste is strong, but it gets used quickly. Here, sir, have some water."
"Tha-thank you...I'm fine..."
"I apologize Tachibana-san...Rei, please, take the flask and leave us to carry on with the piano lesson."
"Very well. If the young lady or the gentleman need me, I..."
"Yes, yes we know, you'll be right outside, God help us."
And they couldn't have guessed more accurately. Rei continued to magically appear in the grand hall, every time presenting a new excuse for his uninvited intervention. Whether it was to clean the table and withdraw the tea set, or because he had somehow heard his name being summoned, he was always present, thoroughly overseeing them behind his stylish spectacles. Gou swore to kill her brother once Makoto would leave. Angering a Matsuoka was always a dangerous risk.
"I'd love it if you could teach me how to play Chopin's Nocturnes."
Makoto chuckled warmly.
"Don't worry, we'll get there. We have to start from simpler things."
"I admit I'm pretty much clueless. I do know the notes and their names though from school!"
"Great then. I'm making a plan for the first weeks, what we'll be working on. I'll bring you your first sheets next time."
He was keeping notes on a slightly battered journal, bubbly and neat handwriting filling the parchment paper. He needed spectacles when writing, his tawny bangs gushing over the metallic frame, deep emerald eyes focusing behind the glass. They were soothing, she thought. Lush forests expanding around his pupils. Two irises woven in the hues of nature. And a sudden amber shade that blurred his vision and made him blink.
They both lifted their heads to witness Rei, who had already pulled apart the velvet curtains that cascaded in folds over the balcony door across them. The sunset was surging in through rays of tangerine.
"Dear Lord, when did you sneak in?!"
"Gou-san you both looked engrossed in studying, therefore I didn't wish to disturb you."
"Are you for real, Rei? Didn't you just achieve exactly that?"
"Well the sun is setting already, it was time to draw the curtains, so that Tachibana-san can admire how beautiful the evening looks here, in the countryside."
"I swear Rei, once the class is over, I'm going to kill you. Actually no, first I'm going to kill my brother, then it will be your turn."
"Now now, Gou-san, wrinkles of anger don't suit your beautiful face, you will age faster."
"Oh my God!"
They continued adorably bickering like old friends, and Makoto couldn't help but heartily laugh when she had to chase him around the piano.
Thus the days were sailing along. The summer of 1936 had settled in for good, bringing an unprecedented heat wave that seared the United States and an era of turmoil in Spain, when one bloodstained morning in the heart of July, the Spanish Civil War broke out. But back in England, somewhere in the peaceful landscape of Kent, neither the weather, nor the politics were rattling the cycle of life. During those weeks of rare sunshine and carelessness, Makoto had integrated with the bizarre residents of the mansion and their daily rhythm. It wasn't long before his polite manners and gentle nature gained everyone's trust. He would patiently listen to Rei's monologues of knowledge with interest, and genuinely laugh at Nagisa's clever jokes. He would willingly rush to help Hana carry the groceries whenever she returned from the market on Saturdays, and always had an encouraging piece of advice for Nitori, making the silver haired boy cheer up. Even Rin himself had been intrigued by Makoto's calming personality and the way it spread its dome over the entire house, every time the soft-spoken tutor was around. Such was this lurking magnetism, that the time of the piano class had turned to the most anticipated part of the weekend for the mansion.
"Ne, Haru-chan, you still haven't met our pianist, have you?"
"No."
Haruka swept the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. Warm summer days down at the cherry orchard with Nagisa were nothing but a dehydrating nightmare for him. The only thing overwhelming his mind was the picture of him surrendering into the bliss of the nearby lake at night.
"You should, Haru-chan. Come more often out to the rest halls. He's such a friendly and helpful bloke."
"Not interested."
"Ah, even you can't deny though that every time he plays the piano, the whole house fills with sweet melodies. What about our Gou-chan? I think she has turned better at it."
"No. She still needs work."
"Really? I thought she played nicely last time."
"Her sound is too harsh and she pauses all the time. Probably her fingers and wrists are still too rigid on the keyboard, she should loosen up a bit. Maybe she should practice more the different scales."
Paving the soft, damp soil with a withy as they walked , Nagisa turned his surprised face towards his companion.
"Haru-chan? You know about pianos and music?"
Perhaps it was his imagination, but for a moment, Haruka seemed to flinch.
"No, I...I just used to know someone."
"Ah, I see. Well I think Gou-chan will eventually become great at playing piano. I have faith in her teacher." Nagisa winked, but noticed that the raven haired cook had suddenly come to a halt a couple of steps behind. "Hey, what did you stop for?"
Haruka was standing like an unyielding pillar of salt, his gaze locked on something in the distance. There, amidst the thriving trees, at the end of a rock path filled with twigs, a brick-red water pump rose on the edge of a grassy well.
"It's cause the water well pump in the orchard broke down. I had to use a rope and a bucket instead, I guess I tied the rope around my wrists a bit more tightly than I should."
"Hey, Haru-chan, where are you going? The trees I want us to measure are in the opposite direction!"
Haruka approached the old water well. The few times he had been dragged into the plantation by the crafty gardener, he hadn't chanced upon the low, round structure that bore the history of the estate engraved on its grey stones. The metal of the pump was rusty, but with the first lever stroke, water poured easily out the spout. The pump was working fine.
"Don't tell me you suddenly got thirsty?"
"Nagisa, has this been fixed recently?"
"Huh? The pump? Why would it need fixing? Heh, in fact, there's not a single time I remember it broken, and it's been here way before I was born, ever since old John placed it. We're talking about some excellent manufacturing."
"Wait, what did you just say?"
Haruka cut him off, squinting his eyes at the younger male. Nagisa blinked a couple of times, confused that his own words could have a meaning he wasn't grasping.
"What did I say what?"
"You said old John placed it. I thought the staff hired here had always been Japanese."
"Oh that..."
Nagisa scratched the back of his head. He unconsciously kept bending the flexible withy in his other hand, betraying the uneasiness creeping inside him.
"No, actually, there used to be a time when everyone in the staff was native, but me. Until Rin-chan started kicking them all out. Not sure why, he's unpredictable sometimes. But hey, look at the bright side, you wouldn't be here with us, had he not done that! Now, let's move on? We have work to do and cherries to gather for you before lunch."
Nagisa patted Haruka's back amicably and started walking away, shunning further digging of the past with a juvenile smile. Haruka let his azure eyes travel back towards the mansion. It rose quietly under the morning sun, an antique remnant of the previous century, peaceful and harmless. Manifesting none of the secrets its enigmatic redhead owner had tucked away.
"What are you hiding?" he thought, before urging his legs to follow the chirpy gardener.
Back in the noble residence, the weather's humidity was slipping through the open windows, moistening the air in the grand hall, making any movement troublesome, let alone playing an instrument. Pearls of sweat were pooling on Gou's bare nape and the stickiness was muddling her focus. Something cool and unbelievably soft caressed her skin, coating it with a sensation of freshness. Gou's fingers froze above the keys.
"What's wrong?"
She looked up at Makoto, sincere and unsuspecting expression colouring his features. A linen handkerchief with his initials embroidered was resting in his hand, only an inch away from her neck. Makoto smiled and offered it to her.
"Thank you..."
"I figured you'd need it" he retorted , checking his hand-wound wristwatch. "Well, time passed quickly, I should head off so I won't miss the train. As I've told you already, our next lesson will be in the first weekend of September."
"It will feel odd spending whole August without these piano lessons."
"Perfect time for you to improve and work on the exercises for both hands that we talked about. I expect you to impress me when I return from Cornwall, Gou."
She wished him pleasant vacations with his family and he properly bid her goodbye. He had entrusted her with the task to amaze him, and though Gou wasn't confident with her piano skills yet, she was a hard worker. She would try her very best to earn his praise and bathe in his smile. Every time Makoto left, she was relapsing into daydreaming. Images of her flourishing as a pianist in front of an audience were parading before her scarlet eyes, her proud teacher gloating by her side and showering her with his ethereal shine. She could spend hours fantasizing her own fairytale of music, like any girl in her innocent teenhood. Propping her head with her left hand, a small sigh escaped her rosy lips, when she suddenly noticed a lime-coloured handkerchief hanging by the piano's edge.
Her sweet reverie came to an abrupt end. She instantly grabbed the cloth and ran towards the hallway, hoping that Makoto hadn't left the estate yet. But as soon as she swung the door open, she collided with something vast and firm. A broad, masculine chest.
"Hey,what's the haste for?"
Sousuke was hovering above her small frame. She swallowed hard, but still tried to glance past him.
"Did you just arrive? Is Tachibana sensei outside?"
He frowned irritated.
"So that's why you were rushing like that. No, I didn't see him."
"I wanted to return his handkerchief to him. I guess this will have to wait now till autumn." She sighed disappointed and folded the square cloth, before shoving it in her skirt's pocket. "If you're looking for my brother, he's upstairs with mom at the moment."
"No actually...I wanted to talk with you. Care to have a walk with me, for a moment?"
His invitation surprised her, but she accepted it with a blushing nod. Strolling through the Matsuoka gardens had been their habit in the past, whenever they wanted to unbosom themselves of their worries and thoughts. Thoughts in which, more often than not, Rin was the main star. When the sky was cloudless and the weather lukewarm, those lazy cruises through leafy bushes and pebbled pathways were the best soothing remedy for their young souls. Besides, those gardens were soaked with memories of their common childhood, as their maze-like area used to be their playground. Rin and Sousuke would indulge themselves in new frolics every day, and Gou would tag along like a playful cherub. And every time Rin would lose in a game, and his crimson eyes would childishly teem with hot tears, she would feel her lips quivering and her own red jewels starting to glaze. At moments like that, Sousuke would slightly mess her burgundy hair and say:
"You have pretty eyes. And pretty eyes shouldn't cry."
Gou shook her head to dispel those happy ghosts of the past. Sousuke had already sat on a carved, teak bench. He patted the space next to him, there where its white paint was chipping away, beckoning her to join him. She did.
"It's been so long since we came here for a walk. You...you never seem to feel the need of having one of those long talks with me anymore."
He stole a side glance at her.
"I could say the same about you."
"Yeah...I guess you could."
A young squirrel scampered along a low, decorative fence before them. It climbed fast up a Japanese maple Rin had planted years ago and vanished from their sight.
"Listen, Gou..." Sousuke trailed off , trying to find the right words "For a while now, Rin wants to arrange a dinner with you and the Mikoshiba brothers."
"Yes, I've heard him talking about it once or twice."
"And? What do you think about it?"
Gou shrugged.
"What would I think about it? I don't really interfere with onii-chan's business."
"Damnit, you're so naïve..." he grumbled and lowered his head "That's what you think it is? A business dinner? It's a rehearsal for you to choose a future suitor."
Her eyes widened and she stared at him as if he had just landed on earth from a faraway planet. Soon, her delicate hand came to cover the giggles escaping her mouth.
"Come on, Sousuke-kun, what kind of a joke is that? As if onii-chan would ever plan something like that, every time a male approaches me, he flips."
"He doesn't like the idea one bit, but he has convinced himself this is the right thing to do."
"Well, let him try. Besides, as far as I know, the Mikoshiba brothers are currently in Germany for the summer Olympics. Seriously though, it's hard to believe that onii-chan of all people would think like that."
"And what about you?"
"What about me?"
Sousuke bit the inner of his mouth. This was more difficult than he had initially expected.
"What do you think of the Mikoshiba brothers?"
Gou pondered for a minute.
"The younger one can be funny I guess. But he has all these weird hobbies and he never ceases to talk about himself or what he likes whenever I see him. It makes me feel uncomfortable sometimes."
"And his older brother?"
"Well his brother...wait, what's with the sudden interrogation anyway?"
Her face emanated confusion rather than irritation. He still averted his eyes.
"It's brotherly concern. We grew up together, you've been like a sister to me, so I wish to see you making the right choice."
For a while, they were engulfed by nature's stillness. That peculiar silence one can meet only at nouns, when the sun is reigning and the sole sound is the tweeting of robins. And then, she exploded.
"Utter nonsense! It's brotherly concern? Really? For once, why don't you say what you're really thinking?"
She felt him slumping into his own self again, and grabbed him by the arm. Her hand around his bicep was trembling, too shocked to interpret her own thoughts and where they had all of a sudden sprung from.
"Just for once, Sousuke-kun...why...why don't you let it all out?"
She nearly yelped when, in response, his arm slithered around her waist and forcefully flattened her body against his own. His glowing sapphire bore into her warm crimson, like the morning tide that put away the last bonfire. This proximity, this passion, this fear were all too much for her to wrap her mind around.
"Do you have any idea what you're asking? Let it all out?" he grunted, breathing out his lustful anger on her flustered face "Do you know what it means? I can show you."
His hand slid below the hem of her mid shin, pleated skirt, and quickly found the velvet of her thighs. Thick fingers zealously fondled their way upwards, stopping only a breath away from her unconquerable core. She gasped at the boldness, pure panic drawn within her eyes.
"This...this is what it means."
"Please stop."
"Oh, should I stop now? What happened to letting it all out?"
"No, not like this."
"Then like what? What did you think would happen if I did what you asked and stopped hiding behind my brotherly love? We would just continue to dilly-dally in some sort of platonic fling? Should I just stroke your ego with words, until one day you start blaming me again cause if, God forbids, I accidentally stumble on you when you aren't dressed properly?"
On the one side his words stinging like burning needles, on the other his hand still trapped between her milky thighs; it was getting impossible to breathe. Every coherent thought had been violently shattered and scattered into the merciless torridity of noun.
"I never...ever said that."
"Yes, Gou, that's the thing. You never said anything, instead you're asking me to do that."
And just like that, he freed her. His intrusive hand disappeared from beneath her skirt, the teal of his eyes swayed away from her rubicund face. For a moment, she struggled to collect herself. Had she really meant to make him confess the feelings she thought he harbored, only to be completely unaware of the next step? When she had kneaded his muscles that day in her brother's chambers, she had completely submitted to the trance of the moment, but when he was the one to make a move this time, dreadful feelings had vanquished her senses. Was she really that unprepared? Was she still what he thought her to be? A child demanding her toy. A kid sister.
"It can be worked out, Sousuke-kun. I can learn."
She listened to her voice disagreeing with her mind. But Sousuke shook his head and stood up.
"You also seem to forget Rin and his reaction."
Her brother, that conundrum. The beacon and barrier of her life at the same time. Her love for him was infinite, but she couldn't stargaze under his veil forever. She had proven in multiple occasions she was as strong as he. The time had come to embrace her own risks, hushing his stringent voice in the back of her mind.
"Onii-chan has nothing to do with it."
"He has everything to do with it. He always had."
This time, Sousuke turned his back to her. When he spoke again, his voice was cold and stern.
"I care about you, Gou. I care a lot. As a brother. And this is the type of love I can ever have for you."
She smoothed the pleats of her brown skirt, before rising to steady feet. He didn't turn around. The view of his broad back was a disheartening sight, but that imposing stature wasn't enough to quell her bitterness.
"You know why onii-chan is better than both of us? You know why he'll always be the one to hold our wheel? Because her never sacrifices his feelings, he always pours them out."
She hurried back to the mansion, her quick pace making the brim of her skirt swish around her calves. He didn't go after her.
Unaware of the emotional gale his beloved sister and best friend were battling against, Rin knocked on the door of his mother's chamber. Her bedroom was spacious and airy just like the doctors had advised, and the siblings were always making sure it was swarmed with fresh bouquets of her favourite sakura flowers. Mrs Matsuoka usually spent her days reading a book in bed or drinking tea by the window, always dolefully gazing at the world outside. Following the deterioration of her fragile health, her public appearances the past year had become even more infrequent. So when that day, upon entering her boudoir, Rin found her all dressed up before her cheval mirror, he was instantly alarmed.
"Mother, what's the meaning of this?"
"Is the car ready yet? I asked Uozumi over an hour ago."
"Where are you heading to? You know what the doctors said."
"They never said I should stay imprisoned in my room. Could you hand me my slouch hat? The black one on the hatstand."
Rin did so reluctantly, even though he couldn't deny it was a fine accessory to adorn his mother's head. Not that Akane Matsuoka needed any ornaments to attest her beauty. Despite her illness causing her voice to turn hoarse and her once blooming cheeks to hollow due to weight loss, her almond shaped, caramel eyes were still embracing the world with warmth. Her silky, crimson mane was vibrantly crowning her beautiful face, white strands of hair randomly peeping out here and there, like thin stripes on red canvas. Had it not been for their late father's fiery eyes, Rin and Gou would have grown up to become Akane's spitting images.
"It's almost time for your lunch, mother. If you want so much to get outside, why don't you go for a walk through our cherry orchard instead?"
"My darling, you forget what date is today."
"How could I..."
He hissed, words breaching past his lips like drops of venom. Specters of a time forsaken but not forgotten were once again leaking out of the Pandora's box that was his childhood. If he focused, he could still smell that familiar agony drenched in blood.
"So you're visiting the cemetery? At your condition..."
"Uozumi will drive me there, and Hana will also escort me. I shall be fine."
"The whole mansion could volunteer to join you and still your presence there wouldn't be necessary."
Rin tightened his fists at his sides, bleaching his knuckles. After a sigh, Akane tried to soften up and approached her son.
"I understand that you and Oliver had always been at odds. He wasn't loving as a stepfather. But, just for today, I wish to pay some respect in his memory."
She attempted to caress his jawline, but Rin roughly brushed away her touch.
"Pay respect?! He's been a rotten corpse for years, what difference will it make? Dying was the only right thing he ever did!"
"Please don't talk like that for the dead."
"Not everyone who's dead deserves my gratitude. Especially bastards like your ex husband."
"Oliver had his flaws but look around you! Look where you live and how people treat you as a noble. To whom you think you owe that? We were stranded and penniless, I endured him and his way of life so we wouldn't end up beggars. But you were always headstrong and ungrateful!"
Rin was shaking under the weight of his rage. The lava in his irises had overrun the white, watery bloodshot eyes beseeching the woman that brought him in the world in pain.
"Ungrateful? You know what he did, mom. You know he..."
She took a step back, clenching her chest with her hands. That suffocating feeling was building up again.
"No, I don't want to hear about this delusion again..."
"You never wanted to hear about it, mom! Not even all those years back, when I tried to tell you!" he barked at her, fist slamming on her vanity table.
"Please...stop...my chest..."
"You endured him?! What about everything my sister and I had to endure? How dare you claim you did it for us?!"
Akane Matsuoka burst into wild coughing, her whole body violently convulsing under the attack of her fateful illness. Terrified by the sight, her son instantly leapt to her side, securing her in his arms as she was about to collapse. Again and again he whispered "I'm sorry" into her coiffured hair, not because he actually wanted to apologize for his words, but because he knew he would eternally regret it if he didn't say it. He fetched a clean towel from her drawers and gently helped her to sweep her mouth. The alabaster cotton was mottled with stains of blood, like the leaves of the Japanese maple that loyally guarded their yard through the seasons. Akane nodded sadly and lifted up her hand to cup her son's cheek. This time, he leaned into it.
"I'm fine. Just the coughing attacks have turned worse. Rin, listen...I do want the best for you and your sister. I hope to see her happy soon, with someone worthy by her side and a family of her own."
"You will."
"And you...I know you always get annoyed when I try to say something, but I do wish you found a lovely girl to be your spouse."
Rin stood there silent. And when his sick mother rested her head on his chest, a smile of comfort illuminating her face, he wrapped his arms around her scrawny figure, but his eyes remained dead and unresponsive.
The evening found him alone in his solemn lounge, drowning his pride in a bottle of whiskey. His mother had returned hours ago from her macabre tour and everyone had retired to their private chambers earlier than usual. Almost everyone.
"I brought what you asked."
Rin's face lit up at the sight of Haruka. He stretched in his boarskin armchair and motioned at the young chef to come closer. Haruka placed a bowl full of dark-sweet cherries on a Victorian coffee table before him, along with a small plate for the pits.
"You know, Rei was seriously irked when I called for your service tonight, instead of his." Rin smirked, "he feels like he is being replaced."
"I'm not a butler."
"That's what I told him too. Why don't you have a drink with me?"
"I don't do well with alcohol."
"I didn't invite you to a drinking challenge, Haru. Come on, how dangerous can one glass be?"
Haruka wasn't sure if it was the warm night, that was gradually casting its dark cloak, the one to blame. If it was his own curiosity or Rin's natural witchery. But he seated himself on a twin armchair and took the glass with the heady liquor, offered to him like the Biblical apple of Temptation. In one sip, he gulped down half of it and shuddered at the astringent sensation laminating his tongue. His virgin reaction made Rin laugh.
"Hey, easy there. It's not water."
"It tastes funny."
"Don't tell me you've never tried whiskey before? How do you use it in cocktails if you don't even know how it tastes?"
Haruka shrugged and brought the glass to his lips again.
"I just do. It's not only about whiskey, I don't drink any of the beverages I mix."
"But how you distinguish the..."
"From the smell. Every ingredient has its own unique odor. Its own identity. I match identities together."
He finished his drink and put the glass down with a low thump. Rin was practically gawking at him, letting his inquiring mind study this extraordinary male specimen before him, with eyes imitating jewels of aquamarine and a personality hard to decode like a boggling riddle. He could feel the intense vibes wavering between their opposite bodies and, despite Haruka's aloof expression, he was certain the raven-haired man had noticed them too.
"What about the rest fragments of this world? The piano down in the hall, the trees in my orchard...the hares and squirrels...the people?"
"Everything has its own scent for me."
The redhead leaned over the coffee table, his voice pitched lower than normally.
"Then what about me? What's my scent?"
"You smell like cherry blossoms."
A wide wrinkle charted his forehead, as his red thin eyebrows vanished beneath his loose bangs. It was impossible for Haruka to know his deeper love for sakura trees, an infatuation that started when he was still a toddler living in Japan.
"Why would I remind you of cherry blossoms?"
"I might tell you one day."
Haruka's unintentional obscurity always aroused Rin. Both physically and mentally. Four months ago a walking mystery had stepped on his threshold, and the redhead had been struggling to solve the puzzle ever since.
"What about you then?"
"Me? I'm water."
"But water has no smell."
There was a moment still in time. And then Haruka smiled. It was nothing but a faint twitch on the corners of his thin lips. But it was there. Encouraging Rin to slide over the coffee table and settle on its wooden edge, right in front of him. He casually rested a bold elbow on Haruka's knee, while he popped a juicy cherry in his mouth.
"Interesting choices, I must say. Sakura trees are beautiful. Unique. But, just like everything else, they do need their water to blossom, don't you think?"
Haruka watched him provocatively chewing on a second cherry.
"You wouldn't let a beautiful tree dry up. Would you, Haru?"
This time, a cherry was brought to Haruka's lips, tantalizing the flesh, as Rin used it to trace his bottom one. Catching the bait, Haruka slowly enveloped the fruit in his mouth, leaving a trail of saliva on Rin's finger. Sucking the air between them, Rin leaned in. His lips leisurely brushed against Haruka's, until the ice-forged brunet parted them, oh so lightly, allowing their tongues to briefly greet each other. When they drifted apart, Rin smugly took the tiny pit out of his own mouth.
"One more"
The redhead breathed out and bent forward once again, this time more eagerly. It had only been a feathery kiss, but it had sparked up the wantonness within him for good. However, Haruka turned his cheek.
"What happened to the cherry?"
"Oh, so that's how it is..." Rin's hand moved upwards from Haruka's knee, nails digging in his shoddy-clothed thigh. "Do I have to bait you every time then? You'll try my patience if you keep resisting me."
"And what if I do? Will you fire me? Just like you did with the entire old help?"
Rin angled backwards, just as his fingertips had begun grazing Haruka's crotch.
"What the hell are you saying?"
"Why you kicked out of your service so many people? It wasn't the economical crisis the problem, it was you."
The candle of anger flickered inside Rin's eyes. But it met only the frozen vastness of Haruka's apathy. Pulling himself up, the redhead turned his back and distanced himself from the epicenter of his desires.
"You're speaking of things you don't know. It's not your place to ask me anything. Understood?"
"If I say that I don't, will you punish me? I figured it might be a fetish of yours."
"Get out..."
Rin spat a cold whisper. Haruka stared at his master's hunched shoulders for a moment, before obeying his command. After all, he was never planning on defying him any longer. He only paused one last time at the doorstep.
"You just seem to have a misconception, here. You're the shark attracted to the bait, not me, Rin ."
As the hours slipped away and the night cheered the darkness on, the temperature dropped significantly. Buried in his dim chamber, Rin Matsuoka had perished in a drinking spree. Sprawled over a desk, mouth skewed and cheeks flushed, he was gazing at the almost empty, second bottle of whiskey in pure worship. And at that trifling moment, he honestly believed that. He believed that no one else was meant to understand him in this life of dirt he was leading. Neither his servants, nor his friends. Not even the supposed cradle of his very existence; his own mother.
Her lackluster image wouldn't abandon his mind, and along with her, shameful phantasms of his childhood would rise from their shallow graves and devour him faster than he was gulping down the inebriating scotch. Right then, the shadows on the walls would shift. They would take the shapes of an endless, ebony lake and its mysterious, midnight swimmer. Haruka's enigmatic words would keep ringing in his ears.
"I figured it might be a fetish of yours"
"Why you kicked out of your service so many people?"
"I know what you've been doing at nights too."
"Like hell you do!"
He cried out to the emptiness, before falling apart in his chair. That stranger running his own kitchen. That man who had audaciously called him by his first name without himself granting him that right. Who was he and what he wanted from him? What all of them wanted from him, anyway?
"Senpai?"
The fogginess around him started to dissolve, Nirori's silver head emerging from the ashes.
"Ai? What are you doing here..."
"I just finished patching the sleeves of your hunting jacket and brought it to you. Please, Matsuoka-senpai, let me help you to your bed."
He hanged onto his devoted valet, but refused to let go of the whiskey bottle, cradling it instead as if it was his most precious property. He sank in his bed and propped himself on the elbows, watching under hooded eyes while Nitori knelt between his parted legs to carefully take off his shoes. His socks were off soon as well, and Nitori proceeded in massaging his soles, well aware this always relieved his master of stress.
Rin sat up and cupped the youth's face with both hands. His thumbs pressed on his cheekbones, forcing him to look up into his garnet eyes.
"Tell me, Ai. Am I an ungrateful monster? Is that all that I am?"
"No senpai! You..you're nothing like that. I know you have a kind soul deep inside."
Rin's thumbs skimmed towards Nitori's lips and tenderly rubbed the flesh there.
"Good boy. Now..." he leaned down to the shell of his ear "...go lock the door."
And as the silver haired servant hesitantly turned the key in the hole, Rin poured the last drops of whiskey in his mouth and reached for the bottom drawer of his night-stand, retrieving a bundle of black, leather harnesses.
Thanks for reading, reviews are always appreciated! Next chapter is on its way.