Astraeus

Chapter 4: A sudden escape? (1)

The incident faded away as fast as it came. Mahiru's injury has been healing well, and Misaki stopped bailing on his lessons. One would think everything went back to normal.

Except for one thing.

They are currently hiding in a tree house, located deep in the forest near the mansion. This place is unknown to everyone other than them, only Misaki knows the way without getting lost.

"So..., how long are you planning on ignoring my questions?" Mahiru asks while switching position on the hammock under him.

.....

......

..........

"Misaki?" He frowns as he doesn't get a response.

Mahiru switches to a sitting position and folds the novel he is currently holding. The sound of Misaki's steady breathing helps him understand the situation. He must have reached his limit.

To be honest Misaki's behaviour was challenging Mahiru's patience at this point. He seemed possessed, just a shell, one which is missing a soul. Misaki was on the edge these days, a nervous wreck to be more specific, and do not even get Mahiru started on what he looked like after each one of his lessons.

Oh, don't get him wrong, Mahiru knew exactly what had been happening since that woman arrived here. It was pretty easy to connect the dots, however.... the fact that Mahiru is a burden to his brother right now makes him feel miserable. It eats him up from the inside, how useless he is, how he isn't able to make any move to shield Misaki.

The worst thing about all of this is how desperately Misaki struggles to be his usual self to keep Mahiru away from worrying. Only if he knew....

Mahiru sighs as he walks near Misaki. The floor is full of music sheets and random papers, the table isn't any better. Part of this was solved wrong or was missing a few notes. Misaki had been working on these for a while now.

He bends down and begins to tidy up a little bit. "How come that this genius brain of yours is only functional when it's about slacking off?" He huffs.

As he puts the papers in order, a red substance comes across his view. There are crimson drops soaked into the paper. It's not dry, nor fresh. " What could this be?" Mahiru smudges the liquid with his finger.

Then an idea disturbs his thinking. He gulps one. Several shaky breaths are escaping his mouth. His gaze flashes to Misaki, mostly on his wrists. "There...there is no.. ..no way, right?"

Mahiru was just about to move his brother's arm to get a better glance when he unexpectedly felt a firm grip catching his own. He flinches nervously and as he tries to back away, he drops the paper pile he is holding. The sheets fall unoriented on the wooden floor.

"What are you doing?" Misaki's voice rang in his ears. It somehow felt cold and distant with a small uncertainty in it. Honestly, it gave Mahiru the shivers.

"I..uh, I just wanted to wake you up...sorry." Mahiru avoids the other's eyes in guilt. Misaki's expression softens by hearing that and he drops the hold on Mahiru's wrist.

"You are a terrible liar, you know that?" Mahiru shrugged, remaining silent, After saying that Misaki's eyes became kind of hollow, as if he was considering choosing between two options. Misaki obviously knew from the start, that's why he didn't let Mahiru near him. This somehow made Mahiru feel like an idiot for trying to fool him.

"Misaki..-"

"We are going back. The sky already has an orange shade, so father will be furious if we don't attend supper. "