DANCE by Sushifishie
Part Three
Putting a hand to his back, Sei groaned as he stood up. He put his basket on the ground and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Then, he cursed his brother for leaving him with all of the chores again. Sometimes, he couldn't believe that they were brothers. Rei was just so self-involved!
Sei pulled at another ripe ear of corn, wishing that the harvest would be over soon. He hated corn the most. Even at dawn, the sun beat down on the field workers incessantly. It caused everyone a great deal of sweat and used up much of the water stores. Wishing that he were as ignorant as his brother, Sei let out a little sigh.
The only thing that kept him from keeling over at this point was the thought of Rei having fun in the woods. It made his work only out of spite and anger. While this was not the best way to work, he knew that it gave him extra energy. So, he forced himself (without much difficulty) to be angry with his twin.
"How's your section coming?" Takemura Shuichi called from about ten yards away. "I've only got one row left, myself."
Letting out a deep breath, Sei replied, "Yeah, I've only got a row and a half." After thinking for a moment, he added, "Have you ever thought of how much quicker this would go if Rei would stay and help us?"
"You'd better believe it," he snorted, wiping his forehead with the sleeve of his vest. "Imagine this: There are about twenty of us harvesting the corn, right? We've got ten rows apiece. If each of us gave Rei half of one row, then," he looked over at the progress everyone had made, "we'd be finished by now."
"Yeah, but instead, I have to toil over these beastly vegetables for an extra moon." Sei saw the look on Shuichi's face and added, "Well, of course it's not actually an extra moon, but it does take a lot of time to finish an entire row."
Rubbing his spine, Shuichi grunted, "It's back-breaking work, I've got to tell you. I cannot wait until winter. We can just eat off of the stores instead of collecting food in all of these baskets."
Sei shuddered. He preferred summer to winter by a long shot. Sure, the summer meant a lot more work and sores from harvesting, but winter was trapping season. He didn't mind eating animals—not by any means. He had strong faith in the food chain and knew humans were carnivorous. But, he did not like seeing dead animals before eating them. When he was little, he thought that turkey was a lump of white, grainy meat. Now that he was old enough to hunt, he had realized with a shock, turkey is actually a gobbling, stupid animal. It did not, by any means, look edible.
Plucking was the worst. He hated to see any pain or blood. It made him nauseous. Thankfully, it was almost time for the Quest. After the Quest, he would have his own profession and wouldn't need to help with general chores like the other children. Soon, he would become an adult.
Gathering his basket in his arms, Sei followed Shuichi out of the corn fields. He was positively dripping with sweat. It was rather disgusting, and he wished for a dip in the lake before breakfast. He figured that if he hurried, it was possible that he could make it back on time.
He explained his plan to Shuichi, and he agreed to come with his friend into the woods. Sei always liked to have someone with him when he set off on the trails. In a pinch, he would ask Rei for help, but only in a pinch. Rei was the reason he was so scared of the woods.
"Have you ever wondered where people go when they're banished from the village after they fail at the Quest or the Dance?" he had once asked Sei. "They come into these woods. I heard Dad talking about it one night at a Gathering. The families were in an uproar about recent sightings of banished members lurking just outside the farthest huts. Anyway, Dad said that he would take care of it, but I know that he didn't do anything. I mean, what is he supposed to do about it?
"So, there are still people hanging around. If you ever get the feeling you're being followed, don't turn around, whatever you do! Just pretend that you don't notice and get back to the village as fast as you can without looking nervous. Remember, these people are vengeful about being exiled. You do not want to encounter them. You never know what they're going to do to you."
Since that time, Sei had been too scared to enter the woods alone (he was cautious even when he wasn't by himself). He had always suspected that Rei had made up the story because he knew it would scare his little brother, but it was a very frightening tale nonetheless.
Shuichi led the way as they trudged down several different paths in silence. They were both quite tired from that day's morning chores, which were, in truth, a bit more rigorous than usual. A cool bath was the relief that they both needed, even if it was a bit short.
They veered off the path and made their way down a rather steep hill. Sei noticed that some footholds looked freshly made, as if someone had just climbed up. Probably it was his brother, running away from his duties, he mused. They followed the rushing brook to the point where the waters calmed and fed into a vast lake.
The lake was in the very center of the woods, and many streams and ponds fed off of it, bringing water to the rest of the forest. While some of the ponds were pretty clear, the most ideal spot to swim was this lake. It had no name, but was just referred to as the lake. Besides, it was the only lake near enough to even speak of.
The water was very cool, having lost most of its heat in the night sea breeze. Now, the waters were soothing to the boys' aching muscles, and they basked in its shining waters for quite a while. They didn't talk very much—the pair was never that big on talking. They didn't feel a need to talk of useless things. Instead, when they did have a conversation, it was very heated—like the one they had shared about Rei just minutes before this.
So, in silence, they sat. But, too soon, it was time to put their clothes back on and head to the breakfast table. Breakfast was more eventful than usual. It was a surprise to the entire village when Rei and Shiori walked in several minutes late, covered head to toe in dirt and mud.
Shiori's mother let out a gasp and led her away from the breakfast table immediately. Never mind that most of the other diners were just as dirty, if not dirtier, from working in the fields. Rei, on the other hand, grinned and waved at the attention. He walked over to his brother with his arms swinging and sat down with a smirk.
"Have fun with your chores?" he asked, shoveling food onto his plate like he hadn't had a bite in three days.
Sei lifted his finger to begin a lecture, but Shuichi grabbed his wrist and yanked beneath the table. It wasn't the time to lecture his brother, and he knew it. Rei was inordinately cocky at the moment and wouldn't let Sei win even a petty argument. That boy was hopeless.
Sighing, Sei relaxed his arm and told his brother, "Yeah, it was all right. But we have to work extra hard because the season is at its peak. It'll be trapping season soon."
"Yeah!" Rei exclaimed pumping a dirty fist into the air. "You know, I hope my assignment is to be a trapper. I don't think I like anything more than provided food for the village."
"You don't like anything more than watching something else suffer," Sei muttered under his breath.
Rei took no notice and grinned at Shuichi with a bit of mushroom sauce on the corner of his lip. "Are you as scared of dead bunnies as my brother here?" he asked, gesturing at his twin, who was pushing some fish into his mouth at the time.
Shuichi shook his head and continued eating. He was used to the brothers arguing and teasing. He'd grown up with them in the same age grouping. He'd had lessons with them and spent every meal with them for the past fourteen turns. While he was very used to it, he still didn't like it. Even after this long, he was still uncomfortable with the tension between the two of them.
The three boys proceeded to eat in silence, listening to what was happening around them. A bit further down the table, a woman was complaining to a friend about her daughter.
"I just don't know what to do," they heard her whine. "All the other girls are getting ready for the Dance and making their own dresses, but Kira just lies in her cot all day. I've been patient for the past three moons, but I've got to admit, I'm getting pretty fed up with it!"
"Calm down," the woman's friend said, moving her hands in a tone-it-down motion. "Anyone would be fed up in your place. But you know, I'll bet Kira will come around any day now. I wouldn't be surprised if she attracts a nice boy for the Dance, either. I mean, she was always a good girl before—whatever happened? She used to look forward to this, right?"
Kira's mother looked down at her food. She sighed, "I suppose. Maybe I can work just a little bit longer. I bet you are right! She has always wanted to Dance. . ."
"That's the spirit!" the friend said, clapping the woman on the back.
The boys turned away, a little embarrassed. Eavesdropping wasn't very nice, and all of them realized that. But Rei, being the boy that he was, whispered to the other two, "Have you heard about that girl before now?"
They both gave him horrified looks—he knew that he should not talk about others like that! It was gossip that's what it was! Slowly, though, they both gave slight nods. They had heard of the girl who wouldn't come out of her hut, even for meals.
"I didn't think that she was fourteen this year. I saw inside her hut once, and she looked so small. But, then, I guess she probably doesn't eat that much," Rei rambled. "Her legs are about as skinny as my arms. I'll bet you can see her ribs, each and every one of them."
A boy sitting on Sei's left perked up and looked at the group. They all knew him from classes, though they didn't know him all that well. His name was Tatsuya, and he was friends with some of the boys looking to become full-time harvesters. He turned directly to Rei and asked him, "Are you talking about the girl who is always in her hut?"
Rei cocked his head and replied, "Yeah, what of it?
"That girl is Aso Kira. You know, that girl who was in our classes for the past fourteen years? Remember," he prodded as Rei gave him a look of confusion, "she was always really quiet, but always surrounded by friends?"
"Sorry," Rei apologized. "I don't really pay that much attention. It's not like she ever talked to me or anything."
"I think I remember her," Shuichi spoke up. "She was really good at art, right? I remember making clay pots with her one time. She was really good for such a little kid." He paused before adding, "Wow! That's Kira? She was so talented, too. . ."
Sei exclaimed, "Oh! I remember her now! I borrowed some dried flowers from her one time—I think when we were nine or something like that. She was really nice, but kind of shy."
"Yeah," Tatsuya said, a bit upset. "She used to be one of my friends. Well, I wouldn't exactly call her a friend, but I used to talk to her, you know? I wish that I could do something to help her come out of her funk."
"So do I," Shuichi agreed, looking at the ground. He didn't really feel that much like eating anymore.
Rei huffed, "Well, I don't. If she has such a bad problem that she can't even talk to anybody about it, then it's probably something that she has to work out herself. It probably can't be solved by anyone else."
Giving him a dirty look, Sei picked up his bowl. "Well, I guess I'll just work extra hard on morning chores to make sure her part is completed, too. We wouldn't want anyone to go hungry," he glared, giving Rei's heaping bowl of fish a pointed look.
After he put his bowl at the food table for the cooks to wash later, he walked out of the hut. He made his way over to the fire pit and sat down at one of the log benches. He sniffled, letting a single tear roll down his cheek. It wasn't fair that Rei didn't have to help with chores! It definitely wasn't fair that he was the one that Shiori liked best.
Letting out a sigh, he wiped the tear off of his cheek. Turning around, he got up to walk to the art cabin for free time. Then, he saw in the window of one of the huts. There, standing and dancing, was Kira.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay! I'm posting, like, once a month, but that's all right. When I have more free time (like after the play is over) I will update twice as often. If I don't make the volleyball team, then it will be three times as much . . . but still pray that I make the team. ^^ Does anyone read my author's notes anyway? Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far—you guys make my day! That's why I'm still posting this story online rather than keeping it to myself for personal gratification. Happy Saturday!