Autumn In My Heart
Chapter 1
(present time)
The canvas lacked a little bluish tint, he decided, as he tilted his head on one side and examined his latest work. It was abstract this time; splashes of black, gray, dark violet and amethyst overlapping to create the most indistinguishable patterns and shades. He didn't know what exactly propelled him to create such a dark art but he guessed it has something to do with all those annoying girls throwing themselves at him. Lately he had been receiving love letters, gifts, and the like from –surprise– girls from his brother's grade. They had been bothering him to no end; showering him with unwanted presents, weeping and screaming incessantly before him when he turned all of them down. Worst, his younger brother seemed to have assumed the "bridge" role rather willingly, letting himself get bullied into taking those stupid letters and gifts so the poor boy can give it to him. Why was he helping those ugly bimbos anyway?
He gave an inaudible sigh and resumed his painting. Perhaps a shade of red was what he needed to finally complete his work.
A loud thud suddenly interrupted him from his musing. He turned to the source of the noise just in time to see someone slumped on one of the desk chairs, arms crossed on the desk and head bent over them. He could hear muffled cries as the girl –he had noticed the person was female by then– screamed angry curses at no one in particular. Or so he thought.
"Why did he have to do that? I spent hours writing it preparing it.. and he just threw it in the thrash! How can you be so cruel?" The girl continued sobbing even when her round glasses became a little foggy and made her nose run continuously. She didn't mind them though. Nothing mattered to her at the moment except the harsh pain of rejection she just received from the boy of her dreams.
After a few minutes of incessant crying the girl finally stopped and sat upright, wiping a few tears from the corner of her eyes and cheek in the process. It was only then she noticed the lone figure sitting quietly from her left who had apparently –or so she assumed– witnessed her little drama. Shock and dread covered her face as she stuttered the name of the person who had just crushed her heart a few hours ago.
"Ru-Rukawa-kun!"
The girl stood abruptly, tried to smoothen her uniform in an attempt to look a little more decent but failed miserably. She fingered the hem of her blouse and spoke uncertainly. "Um... I didn't know you were here." She said sheepishly, shifting her gaze to the tiled floor of the art room.
Rukawa regarded her with little interest and replied. "I was in here all this time, finishing my painting. You disturbed me." He said coldly.
The girl looked up suddenly, eyes watering again with tears and her face contorted in an expression of hurt. "Why? Why did you throw away my letter? You didn't even read it!"
"I don't need to. I don't even know you. And even if I do know you, I'm not the least bit interested."
"Y-you-! Y-you're so cruel!" The girl gave a choked response as she dashed out of the room, heavy tears streaming from her swollen eyes down to her cheeks. At that same time a tall boy was entering the room and she passed by him, not the least bit concerned whether she bumped him or not. The boy remained from where he stood, a little shocked from what he had just witnessed. After regaining some composure, he turned to Rukawa who had returned to his original place before the whole chaos started.
"Um." The boy began uncertainly.
"Why do you keep encouraging them?" Rukawa asked suddenly, voiced laced with unconcealed irritation. "Why are you always helping them? They're nothing but nuisance!"
The tall boy lowered his gaze, unable to meet his older brother's accusing eyes. "I.. I can't just ignore them.." He paused and looked up, his brown eyes pleading for understanding. "Some of them are my classmates! They'll hate me if I don't give those letters and presents to you!"
Rukawa stood abruptly, face contorted in anger and argued back at the younger boy. "But I don't want any of them! Can't you see I'm not interested?"
The younger boy bowed his head in shame and spoke in a low voice. "I'm sorry aniki"
Rukawa's eyes softened at the apology. He approached the boy and patted him on the head, giving him encouraging words in the process. "It's okay it's not your fault, Hanamichi."
Hanamichi looked up in delight and smiled. Kaede finally forgave him! That meant he wasn't mad anymore. Hanamichi's smile widened at the thought.
The older boy gave his brother a weird look and sighed. Hanamichi was spacing out again. Rukawa smacked the back of his brother's head lightly to catch his attention. "Oi. What on earth are you thinking?"
The aforementioned boy finally broke from his trance and grinned sheepishly. "Ehehe nothing" He stopped as he saw a glimpse of his older brother's latest work. "Aniki, is that your latest work? Is it completed yet?"
The older boy glanced sideways at the said canvas. "Oh, almost, I guess. But I don't think I can finish that now. You ready to go home?"
Hanamichi beamed at him. "Sure! By the way, don't forget you have to treat me three bowls of ramen today! You lost our bet remember?" His face was smug as he reminded the older boy.
Rukawa shook his head and sighed. He smacked the back of Hanamichi's head once more and replied. "Do'ahou. C'mon, the sooner we go, the sooner we can get this over with."
"Heh, you're just acting sourly 'cause you lost! Admit it!"
"Yare yare"
The sounds of their arguing echoed in the hallways as the two boys made their way towards their favorite ramen shop.
Hanamichi was busy observing himself in front of the bathroom sink that he didn't notice his mother leaning against the doorway.
"My my, what a sight! My youngest son, all grown up and already conscious of his appearance!" Mrs. Rukawa teased his son unmercifully, clearly amused at the reaction she was getting.
The boy in question groaned and turned to face his mother. "Mom! Don't you ever knock? I'm just clad in a towel!" Hanamichi complained loudly, cheeks blushing adorably in embarrassment.
"Don't be silly Hanamichi, I've seen more of that," –she gestured at Hanamichi's towel-clad form and continued– "..when you and Kaede were still little. It's not a big deal. And why, is my Hana-chan so grown up now that he's ashamed of his poor mother hovering all over him? Am I not allowed to visit or embrace my baby anymore?" The older lady asked in a mock hurt tone.
Hanamichi sighed and approached his mother. "Mom, even though I'm a little taller than before, or I'm starting to grow a beard, I will still be your baby. Your Hana-chan. Remember that always, okay? I love you." He hugged his mother tightly and placed a kiss on her cheek.
Mrs. Rukawa smiled back at his son. She was proud that her two sons grew up to be tall, handsome and charming boys. She cupped her son's cheeks and caressed them. "I love you too Hanamichi. And yes, no matter what happens, you'll always be my baby. My Hana-chan."
The endearing scene of mother and son was broken by Mrs. Rukawa's sudden teasing. "Hmm.. you're right Hana. You are growing a beard. And is that pubic hair I see sticking out from your towel?" She inquired innocently (or so it seemed) as she pointed at the loose towel wrapped around Hanamichi's waist, dangerously low now and appeared to fall off any moment.
"Ack!" The tall boy hurriedly got hold of his dropping towel and frowned at his mother's teasing. "Mom! Stop embarrassing me will you! Good thing aniki isn't here to witness your torturing.." He muttered in annoyance as he tightened the towel around his waist.
Mrs. Rukawa laughed at his son's embarrassment. She took pity at the sight of a blushing Hanamichi and spoke. "Alright, alright.. I'll stop already. By the way, it's only now I noticed how much rougher your features are. Perhaps you inherited those, along with your red hair, from my grandmother's side.."
Hanamichi shrugged and turned to the mirror. Of course he noticed that, as well as the odd color of his hair or the fact that he was the only one with brown eyes in the family. He hadn't been aware of that then, but as he grew up, he began noticing how his features developed in a different way than his brother. Perhaps he did inherit those from his great grandmother's side Hanamichi hadn't seen a picture of his mother's grandmother yet but, who knows?
The tall boy sighed softly and continued shaving his chin. He decided he shouldn't dwell on that matter. So what if he looked a little different?
A click and a brief flash broke whatever thoughts he had been obsessing himself over at that moment. He turned to the source and saw his mom holding a Polaroid camera, smiling mischievously at him as the older lady waited for the picture the come out.
"Mom! How could you?" Hanamichi dashed forward in an attempt to steal the offending picture. "Give me that!"
The older lady dodged her son's attempts to steal the picture and laughed at him. "Wait till your father sees this! Oh, and Kaede as well!" She continued her teasing as she waved the picture at her son's face, seemingly baiting her son to grabbed it from her. "We would place this on one of the albums! Imagine, our youngest son's first shave! Oh, what a notable event this is!"
"Mom!" Hanamichi groaned again for the nth time.
The Rukawa family was happily eating dinner while chatting animatedly with each other. Hanamichi was especially delighted that his mother cooked their favorite dish. He was on his fourth serving when a sudden announcement from his mother made him cough and sputter.
"Oh, I've got a big news! Our Hanamichi here is starting to grow a beard! And that's not all, he also has quite an amount of hair growing on his-"
"Mom, stop!" Hanamichi cut off whatever dreadful statement his mother was about to say.
The amusing scene sparked Kaede's interest and he leaned forward in inquiry. "Where is that 'hair' located again?" His face seemed passive but a glint of mischief could be seen in his blue, fox-eyes.
"Aniki!" The younger boy exclaimed in horror.
Kaede ignored him and repeated his question. "So where is it mom?"
Mrs. Rukawa grinned and mouthed the reply to his older son. Kaede grinned as well and turned to his embarrassed brother who, at the moment was beet red and scowling at them. "So you're finally growing Hana." He said in amusement as he stood up and headed towards Hanamichi. "I want to see it. Come on, let's go to my room."
Hanamichi looked scandalized. He stood abruptly and ran away from his approaching brother. "No way! Mom, Dad, stop him! Stop being stupid aniki!"
His older brother just grinned more at this and chased after him. "No, I wanna see it. C'mon Hana."
"Stop!" The redhead was going in circles around their dining table, Kaede following him closely behind.
Mr. Rukawa sighed and shook his head. "Come on you two, stop that. Kaede, stop teasing your brother." The older man ordered half-heartedly knowing his commands would fall on deaf ears. But he allowed himself a small smile as he watched his two sons interacting. Kaede had always been quite, always keeping to himself when he was little. But when Hanamichi was born, he could see the drastic change his son has undergone. As Kaede interacted and played with his newly born, younger brother, the passive boy started smiling more often and began opening himself more to his parents. Both his wife and him had noticed their older son's liking to Hanamichi. The care Kaede had shown to his younger brother was evident during the past years even though he enjoyed teasing the younger boy incessantly. It only showed how much he loved his brother, and how close their relationship were.
Even as their dinner ended, Hanamichi's screams and sounds of running could be heard through the Rukawa household. Mr. Rukawa sighed once more and decided to just let the two annoy each other until both grew tired of their silly little game.