Onigiri Harvest

[Masuyo Sohma]

Masuyo paused briefly to watch a bird fly across the slowly darkening sky. The pink and orange of the sunset was sinking behind the horizon, chased by the navy blue of night. A cold breeze sent Masuyo's dark hair flying in all directions and an empty packet scuttering along the road.
The street in front of him was completely deserted. Most people weren't out at this late in the evening. They were all inside, eating dinner with their families or whatever it was they did. Whatever sounds could be heard, the music issuing from Masuyo's headphones drowned them out.

Masuyo was sitting on the porch of his house with his sketchbook balanced across his knee. The picture in front of him was beautifully detailed, if a little confusing. He'd always had a thing with drawing unusual scenes. Then again, he doubted he would actually show this picture to anyone else even after he finished it. He could be funny with his drawings. Masuyo didn't like people seeing them before he had finished and even then he still sometimes refused to show them.

Sighing faintly, he moved the pencil in his left hand to add shadow to a woman's dress. He'd come out here to think. Something was definitely wrong with his family right now but he couldn't work out exactly what... and that irritated him. Takehiko seemed even more tired than before now but he was still working much too hard. Arianna needed to be looked after... and then there was Hikari. Masuyo really wanted to know what was happening with him and where he kept disappearing off to. He used to tell him things. It worried him more that he wasn't told things anymore.
Masuyo let out a breath and leant down next to him to pick up his eraser. He'd been a bit heavy-handed then and that woman had accidentally acquired a moustache. He needed to calm down and he should really go inside soon. It was cold and the sky was almost completely dark now.

[Hikari Sohma]

Hikari walked down the hall, a glass of orange soda in his hand. He sipped it lightly as he looked around. He had seen these walls so many times before, but everytime he looked it semeed to be differnt. Like depending on his emotions, they would show something else.

He sighed lightly. Was that his writer side speaking? He smiled a bit. Today had so far been a good day by his strandards. He hadnt got into any fights, akito hadnt bothered him and he was for once a bit actually...happy.

He walked on and noticed Massuyo was in his room by the soft sounds of the eraser. Quietly, he sneaked up to the room, peeking into his brothers.

He was always amazed on seeing his borther draw. He had no drawing skills at all; his forte was writing so seeing someone draw so well to him was truely amazing. Such an artisic family.

"It looks nice." He said, after bout two minutes of watching, hoping he actually did scare his older borther a bit.

[Masuyo Sohma]

Masuyo jumped and his pencil flew off in a random direction. He exhaled and clutched the sketchbook against his chest so that Hikari couldn't see the drawing. He had undoubtably already seen the picture however, as mentioned before; Masuyo was always funny about his work, especially his unfinished work.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" he said, removing his headphones. There should be a law against sneaking up behind people wearing headphones. That would probably protect Masuyo from ever being snuck up on ever again. He wore them while he was drawing or painting... and he spent an awful lot of time drawing and painting.

He blushed slightly at Hikari's comment. "It's not finished yet," Masuyo replied, flipping the book closed. "The perspective is all wrong and some of the people are really out of proportion." These problems were in fact very minor and would most likely not be noticed by anyone asides from Masuyo but he still felt self-conscious about them. What was that saying; 'you were your own worst critic'.

Sighing, he put his sketchbook on down and stood up to go in search of his pencil. "So what brings you out here?" Masuyo asked, curiously. "Did you just want to scare the living daylights out of your poor brother? 'Cause that's mean!" He laughed and bent down on his knees to look under something.
"And do you have any idea where my pencil went?"

[Hikari Sohma]

Hikari scratched his nose lightly, a smile creeping on his face when he saw his nii-chan jump. "Hm." He said as he lowered his hand. "If there was such a law, I wouldnt be able to have anymore fun." He said softly, his voice a bit quieter then most. A bit of darkness was surrounding his voice, like always since "it" started.

"And besides, it a good picture." He said simply, his voice a bit monotone also as he walked into the room. He knew his borther was selfconcious about drawing, though he was awesome at it. "And no one is going to notice those details." He said as he placed his cup down in a place where if it fell over, it wouldnt harm anything at all.

He then got down on his own hands and knee's, looking for the pencil ."Ah, here we go." He said handing it to him. "Gomen...for scaring you." He finally said. He never liked to make peopel feel unconrotable or afraid. It seemed that that was all he was able to do now adays. He let out a sort of a sad sigh, looking own to the ground a bit ashamed of his actions.

[Masuyo Sohma]

"Ah thanks," Masuyo took the pencil from him and smiled brightly. He pushed himself up and collected up his sketchbook and other drawing implements in his arms. Sticking the pencil down the spine of the book, he sighed slightly and turned to look at a random spot on the wall.

"I guess not," he replied in response to Hikari's comment about no-one noticing his mistakes. "But I'm gonna notice them! That's really what's going to bother me... Silly really." He laughed nervously. That was one of the main reasons he disliked displaying some of his work; the other really being that it wasn't anyone else’s business what he drew.

Masuyo then put his head on one side in a concerned manner. He watched Hikari's guilty and depressed expression. That expression seemed to be becoming more commonplace nowadays.
"It's alright really," he said eventually. "But are you alright?" Masuyo continued to give him the worried expression. He desperately wanted to know what was happening.

"Is something wrong? Do you want to talk?" he asked. This was about as subtle as Masuyo got. He had never possessed a way with words and couldn't try to drag it out of him like that. His only option was to ask straight out.
"Did something happen?"

[Hikari Sohma]

Hikari nodded, his thoughts a bit absent minded so the nod was a bit slow. "And thats really all that matters right? That you see it?" He asked, his voice a bit distant as he was thinking about other things.

Thoughts seem to come more often now, dark thoughts. Some of them were even on the border line of suicidal. It was odd. He had these thoughts when he was younger, but he never thought of them deeply. He would always get freaked out by them but now, it seemed that the thoughts were his nightly friends, the beings in the night that actually brought him confort.

He had tried to commit suicide once. it was easy. A kid at school had some sleeping pills and Hikari asked for a few...well..maybe about ten. He was planning on taking them that night, but chickened out. Maybe Akito had a tighter hold on him then he thought. This person controled not only his life, but his thoughts, his actions...it was scary.

He turned his head to face Massuyo. "Yeah, everything fine." He said quietly, his voice not really convicing though he thought it was. "Nothing is the matter." He said, turning his head to not look at his brother. He hated lying, but...what else could he do?

[Masuyo Sohma]

It was clear from Masuyo's expression that he didn't believe him. Sighing, he shifted his sketchbook to his other arm. He didn't know exactly how to try to get information out of his brother though. Asking directly didn't work, Masuyo had doubted it would even to begin with, but he wasn't able to use the complicated mind-games to trick Hikari into telling him. He could have a good stab at it but would inevitable end up stuttering and using the word 'like' an awful lot, rather like a preteen girl in the presence of a pop-idol.

"Hikari... you know I'm no good with words and stuff," he said, seriously. It seemed out of character for him but his family was one of the few things he was reliable with. If something was wrong, he wanted to help sort it out. “That’s more your thing." He smiled reassuringly.

"But seriously... What's wrong?" Masuyo tried again, even he could manage a basic guilt-trip. "Something is clearly bothering you and I wanna know what... 'cause I'm all nosy like that! Is it something at school?" he asked, watching Hikari closely.
"I want to help!"

[Hikari Sohma]

Hikari turned his had again to look at Massuyo for a moment. He was acutally thinking of telling his older brother. He flet like he could trust him siince they were of closer age. He sighed lightly and opened his mouth to speak but turned away.

"Nothing at school." He said quietly. He wanted to tell him so badly but, it was like fear had a lock onhis throat. Was it fear? Or was he protecting his family? Everything was so odd and mixed up now!

He looked down to the ground, trying to think, trying to make an nswer for himself. He could feel the sadness in his chest began to gorw, the feeling of loneliness that echoed inside of him always. It was like a stone being thrown into a pool and rippling across the water.

"Just...forget about it, ok?" He asked, though he didnt want to say that. He wasnt lying and that was the mian thing, he wanted to tell, but he couldnt. There was to much at stake.

[Masuyo Sohma]

"Hmm..." Masuyo's expression turned to a slightly hurt one. Hikari had looked like he might tell him then but obviously changed his mind. Before Hikari would tell him everything but that was gone now. It depressed Masuyo that he couldn't be told things anymore. He didn’t want his brother to suffer through this alone. It was his unofficial to job to worry about the rest of the family and help them out if he could - and have a good stab at it if he couldn't - after all. Even aside this, it was only natural to worry about his younger brother.

Masuyo put his sketchbook and various erasers and pencil sharpeners down, they would get in the way and wrapped his arms around Hikari.
"I'm sorry about this," he said, slightly muffled. "I really want to help. I hate seeing you like this! It's probably selfish off me but I really want to do something! ...I don't think I can forget this!"
Masuyo sighed and let go. He was most likely embarrassing Hikari with his sudden clinginess. His generally rambling and being upset couldn't help.

"Sorry," he apologised again, busying himself with collecting up his things again. Masuyo seemed quite out of character; except of course where needles were involved, he rarely worried so visually.

[Hikari Sohma]

Hikari looked at his borther and muttered a sorry to him. He knew tha this older borther was hurt and he didnt want that. but...like he thought so many times before, it seemed that that was all that he could do; all he could was hurr people and make them feel unconfortable around him.

He sighed lightly and was about to get up when his borther hugged im, making a small blush appear on his face. Massuyo was never...so...clingy like this. He shook the nervous feell away and looked over, noting that he looked exactly the same.

Coughing lightly he let out another sigh, a bit of a more shaky one. He wanted someone t know, for oneone to be able to help him, but he couldnt.

"I...dont want you all to get hurt." He said, openign up slightly as he brught his knees up, wrapping his arms around them so he could hug his chest. "I dont want you to be banished or exiled frm the family, just becuase of me." He said, giving a small hint.

[Masuyo Sohma]

"Banished or exiled?" Masuyo repeated, turning to look at him over his sketchbook. Despite how he was often perceived, Masuyo actually noticed much more than you would think, particularly in people. He had always thought it was because he was an artist; he needed to notice things so he could capture their essence in his pictures.
He hugged his sketchbook. Masuyo didn't know how to reply. So it was something going on with the Sohma family but what?

"So it's... it's like... something to... like do with the Sohma's," There went the stuttering and excessive use of the word 'like'. 'Okay... calm down to avoid more sound like a preteen girl!' Masuyo scolded himself mentally. He wasn't good at this whole 'putting your thoughts into words' thing, he preferred to draw them.
That however, would not get him far. Hikari would no doubt wonder why his situation was likened to the Cheshire cat sitting having tea with a fairy queen in the middle or the desert or whatever it ended up as. Masuyo's love for abstract scenes was as much a curse as it was a good thing. His mind was an unusual place.

"Is it like... something to do with Akito?" he finally asked. Hopefully, no-one else would hear his rambling and laugh at it. It wasn't his fault; he really did struggle with getting his ideas out. "’Cause I'm... I'm not like... that scared of him. I wouldn't... wouldn't put anything past him though. I'm friends with some of the maids! I hear stories ...Oh G-d, I sound like a preteen girl, don't I?!" he laughed, trying to lighten the mood some.

[Hikari Sohma]

Hikari loked up at Massuyo with sad eyes for a moment before looking down. The more he talked about it the more the thoughts came out. He looked down for a moment.

If he had to draw out his thoughts and hide them, MAssuyo would most likely be able to pick up on his brush strokes and such since he was liek that, but with words...Hikari was king. He didnt want to but...but he had to do it.

"N-...no." He said looking down to the ground. "It dosent have to deal ith Akito." He said, a total lie. "It...has to deal with..." He took a deep breath. Lying was the only way out.

"I have a crush on Haru Sohma." He said, finally letting it out. some of the Sohma's knew this and he didnt know if his borhter did. It wasnt exactly a lie, but, it wasnt what was bothering him.

[Masuyo Sohma]

Masuyo raised his eyebrow slightly. He could tell he wasn't getting the whole truth here but decided to play along. Sometimes, that was just the easiest option. He could push this more another time.

"Yeah, I knew that already!" Masuyo said brightly. He had indeed noticed his little brother’s interest in Haru Sohma quite some time ago... And he was well aware that that was not what was bothering Hikari. He had more idea now though. It was something to do with Akito, Masuyo would have to ask Chika about it next time he saw her. She was a maid after all, she might know something.

"Is that all?" Masuyo asked, a concerned ting once again creeping into his voice once again. Sighing faintly, he shook his head to clear it. No, no more pushing tonight he had decided. He should really try to lighten the mood and change the subject. All this worrying and generally feeling crappy was not good for anyone’s health.

"Anyway... All this panicking has made me tired," he said, yawning and resting his chin on the top of his sketchbook. "Maybe I should go to bed but I want to finish my drawing first... I might be able to do it in my sleep. That would be cool." Masuyo was rambling in a confused and somewhat absent way. However, to be honest, this was a more normal state for him.

[Hikari Sohma]

Hikari looked over at Massuyo and a small smile was on his face as he let out a short sigh of releif. He was happy that he had tricked his brother, though, he was a bit upset. He never liked to lie.

He fell out of zone for a moment, listening to not his brother but the sound of his own heart. It was beating like crazy, someihng he hadnt done for a long time. Why did he feel so guilty? This wasnt like him....

"O." He said, taking a moment to listen to his brother and gather his thoughts. "I...leave you alone then." He said standing up. Just like his brother, he liked to be alone sometimes...actually...most of the time.

[Masuyo Sohma]

"Huh?" Masuyo stopped rambling to himself for a moment to look at his brother. He put on a sad face and pretended to pout
"Aw! You just don't like me anymore!" he teased. He flopped backwards so he was lying on his back. "You want to get away so you don't have to talk to me anymore. Fine! see if I care!" He said, melodramatically. Masuyo pretended to sob dramatically the collapsed in laughter.

He knew very well that none of this was true. Masuyo was the one who said he was tired and Hikari probably decided to leave him alone to sleep or finish his picture, whichever he choose. Sleep probably was the best option... He didn't want to fall asleep in class, he did have a scholarship to keep up with and all. Besides, as much as he wanted it finished, there would be plenty of opportunity to sort out his picture tomorrow. Like on the train. (‘I need to get a drivers licence’)

"Okay then," He said, seriously now. Masuyo yawned and rubbed his eyes in a sleepy manner. "I think I should go to bed. I really am tired now." Pushing himself up again, he looked at Hikari critically.
"You should go to bed as well, you know. You've been out so late recently and you really need sleep... Honestly, you're as bad as Hiko. Which reminds me, I still need to scold him..." He added, giving Hikari a semi-concerned look again.