Be More

[Hikaru]

"For family... For family..."

Hikaru sang quietly as the scratches of his pen sounded on the paper, intent on writing a new piece that keeps on playing and playing in his head. He has his headphones on, but the music turned off.

He was listening to one of Yuki's song as he relaxed in his room, and then inspiration strucked. So he quickly scampered off from his bed to grab a pen and two pieces of papers. One to write the lyrics on, the other one to write the music notes on. Hikaru's actually multitasking between the two papers, shifting his attention between them as he worked his way in getting out this idea in his head.

Hikaru was sprawled on the floor of his room stomach down, with his pillow under his chest. He's writing quite fast on the paper in front of him, his head bopping with the beat of the music that seems to exist only in his head, complete with a singer's voice even.

A second-hand black and white guitar laid at his side as he wrote on the paper. The instrument was a farewell present he received from one of Yuki's friends back in the school. The guy just happened to bought a new state-of-the-art guitar that time, so instead of throwing his old one out, he gave it to Hikaru.

Hikaru isn't really very good with the guitar, but he got the basics down that he can at least play a few notes, just enough for him to create a few melodies with it. After he finished a paragraph on the lyrics paper, he alternated his attention towards the other paper now with the music notes, pulling himself up from his pillow to sit properly.

Swiftly, Hikaru pulled his headphones down to hang on his neck as he grabbed a pair of glassless spectacles near his guitar. The boy doesn't need spectacles for his eyes actually, he can easily control the amount of light entering his eyes to adjust with any sort of sight problems. The spectacles though, strangely, are used for his hearing. The redhead claimed that he can hear things better if he wears spectacles.

Thus, there he sat, with plain spectacles on, and now cradling the old guitar in his arms. Slowly, Hikaru strummed a few strings, trying to find that perfect note fitting with the one he hears in his head, and once he found it, the readhead quickly wrote it down on the music note paper.

Hikaru kept doing this for a while, alternating with laying down on his pillow for the lyrics, and sitting up playing his guitar for the notes. "Gosh, I need to find someone who can voice out this song... A guy with a raspy, scratchy...yet airy singing voice."

There was a knock on his door after a short moment, and after confirming the lady that came in his room to be the cleaner, he greeted her cheerfully before getting back with his work without disturbing the lady cleaning the things around him.

The cleaner left his door wide open though, and since his room is located near to the stairs, anyone who walks by nearing the stairs can clearly see him on the floor through his opened door.

[Open]

[Ritsu]

'I don't know if I'm more surprised that they actually have a hotspring back there or that they have power in the middle of nowhere.' Ritsu sighed as she toweled her hair dry. Already, she could feel the chill outside the cabin, but after soaking in the heated tubs of the establishment's baths, she was confident she could ignore the cold for a while still, or at least until she was nice and cozy in front of the fireplace in the lounge with a cut of hot chocolate in hand. She could resume her search for the yukihime tomorrow and thus should not worry about climbing up the snowy peaks of Tenka.

It wasn't like she knew where to find the legendary ice princess or what she would do if she did find the supposedly ill-tempered and frigid lady of the snow. Ritsu was merely curious, that's all. With all the time in the world for her to spend, the kitsune tried to find ways to entertain herself and traveling or questing were good ways to do just that. She traveled on foot all the way from Kumo to reach this place (because that took longer than using man-made transportation) and she felt rather proud of herself. The last time she had been around these parts was at least two centuries ago, when there was absolutely nothing here. She had decided to turn back after seeing nothing but white peaks and ten-foot deep snow. Nowadays, there were cabins, resorts, and restaurants to cater to the booming tourist industry. There were ski-slopes, half-pipes for snowboards, and other infrastructures that would entertain the foreigners that paid enough money to come here.

Oh, how time flies.

Yet it never ends either doesn't it?

Ritsu suddenly remembered the cup of hot chocolate she had been craving since she entered this cabin and turned around the corner to fetch one. It would be the best way to end today's journey and wind down. The thought of sweets had her throat crooning in anticipation. However, a flurry of notes found their way into her ears before she descended the stairs. She found it odd, because the Hawkeye Cabin wasn't exactly a place one would consider to be inspired, and yet there was a young man on one of the rooms, bobbing his head, singing, and writing music with a guitar on his lap.

'Huh...'

The red-haired boy-- or man. She had no idea how humans classify between the two-- looked like he was really enjoying himself, and she thought that his music wasn't half bad. It was very laid-back, with all the trimmings of a pop song, the kinds of which were very popular in cities. Was he an aspiring singer/songwriter? He certainly looked young enough to be. Smirking to herself, Ritsu pulled the cotton towel from her head and threw it over her shoulder. She then leaned against the redhead's door frame.

"Hey, is there a name that comes with that tune? A band or a title?"

[Hikaru]

”Hh—?” Hikaru paused his singing with a breath of air hitched in his throat when his hearing registered another voice other than his. Immediately, he’s made aware of the things around him, having his little bubble popped. ’Didn't I just woke up…? Oh man, do I have bedhair?? Are there crusts in my eyes—?’ Quickly, the redhead wiped his eyes before looking up to see who’s at his doorframe.

In which stood an ochre-haired girl, smiling.

”P-pardon..?” He leaned forward a bit, completely didn’t register her question. The only thing he could hear earlier is her voice, her question had unfortunately escaped his notice. Hikaru pushed up his glasses to rest on his red hair, then immediately returned her charming smile with his own. ”I'm sorry, I didn't hear you,” he politely bowed a slight bit using his head.

The towel on her shoulder briefly reminded him that he hasn’t even showered yet, much less washed his face after waking up. Hikaru had simply jolted out of bed, leapt on the floor with his guitar and didn't moved from his spot still. The maid from before had finished her job and politely made her way out, slipping past the girl at the door. ”Uh, th-thanks..!!” He called out to the maid before she disappeared completely, before sighing at his lack of awareness of his surroundings.

While slumping down like that, he peeked from his bangs towards the stranger still at his door and puts down his guitar. ”Uhm… would you like some hot cocoa?” Might as well offer his company after realizing his blunder

[Ritsu]

Ritsu crossed her arms and laughed, clearly amused at the young man's awkward realization that everyone in the cabin could hear him singing and playing guitar. Cute kid.

"I asked if you're a professional musician or something," she grinned after she was able to control her mirth, "But I guess that can't be the case with your voice breaking like that, yeah? The song's pretty good though. I guess you're glad that there's electricity in the place."

The kitsune then pushed herself off the doorframe and looked over her shoulder to watch the maid go into another room. When she returned her attention towards the redhead, she held her hands akimbo and took him up on his offer. "The hot cocoa is actually what I'm after before I heard you emoting over here, so unless you can make it by turning a few knobs on your guitar or amplifier, you better get your butt going. My name is Ritsu, by the way, and it'd be great if you tell me more about your music. I have a certain affinity for choir boys like you."

[Hikaru]

"H-huh??" Hikaru sputtered, completely startled by her question. "N-no! Of course not!" If anything, his sister is the one fitting that kind of assumption. "I... I was just playing around..." He muttered weakly, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Perhaps he's been influenced by Yuki and the crowd she attracts with her career as a singer.

His face reddens when the girl commented of his voice and Hikaru dropped his head in embarrassment. "W-well sorry! My sister's the actual singer, I'm just supporting her," he managed a small pout on his still youthful face as he puts his guitar down on the floor and tidied up the papers a bit. Then, Hikaru got up on his feet to stretch a bit, thankful the maid had cleaned up the room for it to at least look presentable to guests. "Alright then! Come in, sit anywhere," he had regained back the energy in his voice after the stretch and walked towards the door, gesturing for the girl to enter before closing it.

"I only have instant cocoa packets, though. So, I hope the quality wouldn't bother you..." Hikaru laughed nervously, now making his way to the kitchen to boil some water. Since the cabin room is small, he can hear Ritsu's voice even when they're in different rooms. "Ah, nice to meetcha, Ritsu!" He poked his head out of the kitchen door just to smile at her, "I'm Hikaru." Getting back to the kitchen counter, the light elementalist fished out two packets of cocoa powder from the jar there, and pour each packet on one cup. "Like I said, I'm not really that into music, just playing around. I mean, my sister's friend gave me the guitar, so why not try it out?"

The sound of the kettle screeching could be heard from the kitchen and Hikaru turned the stove off quickly. "I don't have basics at all, just kinda learning from listening to my little sister. She's the one who dragged me here, ahaha... Snow elementalist and all..." The redhead appeared from the kitchen with two cups of hot cocoa in each hand, carrying it by only touching the top of the cups to avoid burning himself. He puts one on the table for Ritsu and one on the floor for himself, just as he's sitting down back on where he was before.

"...Aren't you cold like that?" He pointed to her partly wet hair, and after a moment of staring at her, Hikaru crawled to one of the rooms, probably his bedroom and came back to the living room, tossing a thick jacket over to her. "Where did you even come from? A hotspring?" He joked, sitting back near his guitar and picking up his cup of cocoa.

[Ritsu]

"Omph!" Ritsu wasn't prepared to have a heavy jacket flung into her face. Truth be told, she wasn't prepared to be so welcomed by this guy who she just greeted, not that she minded at all. Hikaru's friendliness was as welcome as fresh air after a humid day, until the analog struck her as funny because they were nowhere near any place of humidity. She struggled to remove the jacket on her person and placed the thing on her lap. Had she been in her fox form, she would've hissed that her fur would've been a mess, but her human hair was tousled in the first place.

"You didn't have to," she said as she placed the jacket beside her, grinning proudly as she crossed her legs on the floor where she flopped down earlier. "I don't get cold."

"Thanks for the drink, although these instant cocoa stuff urges me to drag you to the cabin next door, the one I'm staying in. They make it themselves and I heard it's so good, the yukihime hums at the taste-- as if anyone would believe that--" She dared take a sip of the drink, mindless that was still scalding. Her strong resistance to heat kept her from burning her tongue though, and allowed to savor what was there to savor in any instant beverage. It was difficult to admit the convenience of such little packets though.

"And, yes, I came from the hot spring just behind this cabin," Ritsu told him as she licked her upper lip to get rid of any foamy mustache that she knew was there,"Which of course I know you don't know was there judging from that wide-eyed way you mentioned it. Anyway, you said your imouto-chan is the musically gifted one? Heh, don't put yourself down too much there, Hikaruchin, your riffs were pretty solid. You just have'ta," She couldn't help but snicker in teasing, "Modulate that pre-pubescent choir boy voice of yours."

The kitsune downed the hot cocoa even before Hikaru even sipped his, and placed the cup on the table. Sighing in contentment, she stretched on the smoothly varnished wooden floor that wasn't covered by the plush carpeting of the cabin. "Your imouto-chan picked a strange place for you to compose music though. Doesn't the cold affect your singing ability? I know it can affect musical instruments. I once knew a monk who swore bring his taiko drums anywhere near below 15 degrees, and it's so much lower than that here." She shot up and crossed her legs again, grinning as she held onto her ankles.

"I understand your frustrations though. Heh..." She looked away while scratching her cheek, "I despise that coded message they call musical notations. They're evil. EVIL, I tell you. They're just a bunch of dots on the page!"

[Hikaru]

It was so normal for Hikaru to have random strangers to stop by in his dorm room since his time in the school, that it's becoming a habit of his to do what he did. "Oh c'mon, I knitted the thing myself, at least comment if it's comfortable or not~" There's that pout again. While music is not Hikaru's forte, he prided himself of his handiness. Like crafting, for example. As clumsy as his legs are, at least his hands are fortunately nimble.

"I don't have high expectations of drinks. Gotta be thankful of whatever I have," he shrugged as he blows his drink a bit, grateful of the warmth instead of the taste itself. "How do cocoa make themselves, even? Some kind of automatic brewer thing?" He inquired after taking a small sip to warm his insides. He assumed her to be rich for having that kind of expensive cabin, complete with a brewer of sort.

His eyebrows shot up high once Ritsu affirmed of his joke to be truth. That's hard to believe, at least for a place like this. As Hikaru takes another sip, he ended up coughing at Ritsu's next set of comments. "Is... Is that last comment really necessary..." Hikaru glared a bit to the stranger, and cleared his throat from the cough, but at the same time checking if his voice really does still have that squeakiness. "But thanks. Yuki has a lot of musically gifted friends so yeah, I try to pick up some things.."

At the mentioning of his sister, his energy went up a bit, "Have you heard of her, by the way? Eyuki, my sister. We've been travelling places so she can perform." He ranted a bit, happy to even talk about his little sister. The redhead notices Ritsu putting her cup down on the table, and by the sound of it against the wooden table, he can tell it's empty already. Staring at her in silent surprise, Hikaru takes another small sip of his cocoa. "Naahh, the cold doesn't effect Yuki. Or me much, I guess, because I'm used with Yuki hugging me all the time, so."

The boy only shrugged and puts down his cup on the floor, just to cool his palms from the heat by placing them on the cold floor. "But we're not here to perform actually, haha. Yuki-chan really likes snow, you see, so we're just here so she can wind down and enjoy the ice everywhere. Just a short vacation." He smiled, now wondering if Eyuki is alright out there. She said she wanted to take a walk this morning, but Hikaru's too sleepy to join her and instead continued to sleep the rest of the morning off. Until sudden inspiration strikes.

"I know, right?!" Hikaru immediately lights up upon Ritsu's complaints. "Yea, yeah!! Exactly why it scares me to take basics..!" He laughs a bit, and stared at Ritsu for a moment. "What about you, though? What are you doing here in these parts?"

[Ritsu]

"Err..." Ritsu took a moment to ponder how to answer that question. There were times when she couldn't keep her identity a secret from the people she meets, but she tries her best keep it a secret, especially in places like these where there were a concentration of people. It wasn't much, but there was still enough for them to cause her hurt, and while a fox spirit like her can't perish in the hands of humans and their weapons, getting injured still caused pain. Wounds and broken bones were inconveniences that had become her companions throughout her life, but she rarely sought them.

She glanced at Hikaru a few moments after she had averted her eyes to think and laughed nervously, "Vacation too...?"

She wanted to slap her forehead hard at that pitiful excuse. Then again, this guy seemed to be genuinely nice so she might just slip away from that inquiry unscathed. Or maybe a bit of truth won't hurt, so she said, "I'm from Kumo, actually, and over there, there's this legend about an Ice Queen here in Tenka. I'm a... uh... myth buff, yeah that's right. I study legends and myths! So I want to learn more about the legend of the yukihime of Tenka."

"Sorry, I haven't heard of anyone named Eyuki before, but you did mention that your imouto-chan is a snow elementalist," Ritsu tilted her head curiously, wondering if there's a connection or anything, "What does that mean exactly? Is that some kind of magician or sorcerer?" From the way Hikaru fawns over his little sister, the kitsune couldn't help but envision an eleven-year-old girl playing in the snow singing musicals while making snowmen.

[Hikaru]

Hikaru crossed his legs and leaned forward with an expectant smile, anticipating more out of her since she seemed to be the type that likes to talk, or so he assumed. "Kumo..." Hikaru pondered out loud, trying to remember which country was it. "That oriental place?"

Hikaru, being the naive boy that he is, nodded in amazed wonder of Ritsu's explanation. "Legends and myths! That's awesome, Ritsu...! Whooaaahhh.... I never knew someone would be interested in that kinds of stuff to the point of traveling to the places! You're so passionate!" His eyes twinkled and his hands are in fists, completely astounded by this stranger's reasons.

At the topic of his sister, Hikaru brights up even more, "No no, she's an essence of snow~ Like I'm an essence of light. We're the element themselves, you could say, taking the form of humans after centuries of development." He explained casually, a smile still brightening his features. "Apparently, we've been here for a while and we keep reincarnating into new forms." Hikaru has a way of speaking the most cryptic of subjects like talking about the weather.

[Ritsu]

"Yes, Kumo...that place." Ritsu furrowed her brows and pouted, resting her elbow on the table and flopping her chin on her upturned palm, "But you don't have to make it sound like it's some... exotic restaurant or something."

Upon Hikaru's mention of her supposed occupation, the kitsune grinned widely for though she was not legitimately a scholar or anything, she was indeed very interested in the supernatural. Because, well, she was one. "Yeah, I have nothing else to do with my life so I travel around... learning things. I've tried being a musician, a drummer actually, but I grew frustrated and I quickly learned the true meaning of being a frustrated musician, yeah? I worked here and there, yadda yadda, until I just decided to do what I want to do."

'Which was to see if there was truth to all the mythical beings out there.'

When she heard her companion's story about essences, Ritsu took a moment to get her head wrapped around the idea. It was hard for her to think of Hikaru as anything more than a human being, because of his naivety and friendly nature. But then she realized that most humans weren't friendly at all, and they were the most perverse and tainted of mortals. It was still rather difficult to make sense of Hikaru and his sister's nature though. Elements were the simplest embodiment of magical energy in the human world. Spirits like her were another form of magic, but unlike this redhead, she was once mortal and live as an animal before her true nature was revealed to her. But energy just suddenly turning into a person?

She would have had a easier time believe him if he was a ball of light, or maybe a light bulb.

'Heh, from the way he's so happy about everything... he's pretty darn close to one.'

"Are you always so happy?" Ritsu smiled toothily, unable to deny that being with such a companion was very uplifting. It was fun. "I might have to shield my eyes from your brightness, Hikaru-kun. You're kinda blinding, yeah?" She tapped her fingers on the table. She couldn't help the urge to learn more about these essences or whatever they were.

"So your sister is out there somewhere, huh?" She pushed herself from the table and hopped to her feet. "I sorta wanna meet her, is that okay? Maybe I can flatter her into singing a song for me or something. It's not everyday that I meet a famous singer." She winked and began walking out of Hikaru's cabin without even waiting for the young man to get ready.

[Hikaru]

Hikaru immediately raises his arms in defense, "No..! I didn't mean it like that, I just couldn't remember all the names of these countries yet." He couldn't even tell if where they're at right now is called Fijion or Tenka. His memory is simply horrible like that.

Hikaru tries to see Ritsu as a drummer as he stared at her, and unconsciously wondered if she'd like to perform with his sister one of these days. She certainly fits the look, and according to the way she spoke to him about music, Ritsu seemed pretty experienced in it. 'Cool people everywhere, what am I doing with my life... Wow.'

At Ritsu's sudden question, Hikaru took a moment to blink. "Well, I'm happy because I have good company?" He answered so genuinely, it's hard to believe a boy his age could say that without the intention of impressing others. His face colored a bit though of Ritsu's compliments, only nervously laughing as he scratched his cheek.

"Yeah, my sister likes to stroll through the snow a lot--" The redhead didn't even get the chance to finish his sentence when Ritsu suddenly stood up on her feet. "Eh?" By her sudden, almost whimsical, decision to meet with Yuki, Hikaru followed her with his eyes until he realized she's walking straight out of his cabin. "W-wait for me!" He pushed himself to his feet, grabbed the coat he threw to Ritsu earlier, hurriedly drinks his cocoa and dragged himself out after fumbling with his keys to lock the door.

As he followed Ritsu, Hikaru hopped on one foot to tie his boot in place, and then slips in his coat, pulling the hoodie over his head. "You're not one for patience, aren't you?" Hikaru pouted from behind her, fixing his shirt underneath his coat. Then again, he is starting to get worried of his sister, so looking for her might be best.

"It's hard to see her through this snow, though. She has hair as white as the snow itself, I'm just hoping she wears her darker coats today..."

[Ritsu]

"Hehe, I don't rely on sight." Ritsu stuffed her hands in her thin jacket's pocket as she descended the cabin's steps. Outside, snow fell like sparse powder on a blanket of white, coating all the cabins like sugared mochi. From her vantage point on top of a mildly sloped hill, the communal cabins all looked like they were huddling together for warmth for they were so closely grouped together on one side of the plateau. She hadn't had the opportunity to see this earlier because it had been quite dark when she arrived in the cabin. She took a deep breath of cold air, filling her lungs with the scent of frigid ice and pine, and simply took a moment to look at the sun-kissed monotone scenery of Tenka.

She looked over her shoulder when Hikaru finally caught up with her. Seriously, shouldn't bunnies be quicker? "White hair? But I thought she's younger... hmmm... must be kissed by ice, like that Yukihime. Who in their right mind would go up a snowy mountain wearing all white other that someone who is purposely camouflaging herself, yeah? We should be able to find her no problem!"

She hopped off the small flight of stairs and allowed her shoes to sink in the snow. She mentally groaned at this because she had just gotten off the soft powder that was so difficult to navigate. Why was she so inclined to look for this guy's sister, again? Ritsu just tried not to think about what impulses led her to do. It was pointless anyway since she's already outside with snow up to her ankles. She sniffed the air, testing it to acclimate her nose to the background scents.

Suddenly, she asked the redhead, "Say... does your sister smell like anything?"

[Hikaru]

"Eh?" Ritsu's unusual answer earned her a puzzled stare from Hikaru, despite him trying to tie his other boot in place and hopping on one foot like that. "Kissed by ice...?" He couldn't catch the rest of her speech, being busy with tying a knot while catching up to her. "How are you so conf--"

He wasn't able to finish his question however, because the redhead did not register the presence of the stairs under him. "--IDHOA--OOF!" Since he had his knees up to fix his boot, he ended up kneeing his own torso as he fell and slumped sideways at the pain. Hikaru just laid there, a hand on his chest and his face half-sunk in the snow. "...Yukiiiii," his muffled voice called out to his sister pathetically.

With a heave, he pulled himself to sit down and wipes the snow off of half his face. "Snow smells weird..." Hikaru complained, pushing himself to stand up now, dusting the snow off of his person when Ritsu posed him a question. "Yuki-chan..? Uhm... I don't know...? Sometimes she smells like alcohol." He answered, innocently enough like its the most common thing.

[Ritsu]

Ritsu turned around when she heard Hikaru falling all over the place. "Geez, you're more likely to get killed by stairs than by bears. What's wrong with you?" She doubled back to dust the snow off the poor, clumsy guy, who reminded her a bit about a friend she had lost decades ago. That girl had been quite the clutz as well.

"Alcohol?" She looked at him with a dubious expression on her face. "Are we talking about ethanol or the stuff you drink here? They smell different."

Though now that Hikaru had hinted that his sister did, in fact, smell like something, the kitsune's nose automatically tried to search for the scent of anything relevant to her query. She sniffed at the air again, and there was indeed the scent of liquor in the air. It was faint, as if the bottle was still sealed or was just opened. However that could also mean that the scent had already decayed, meaning that Eyuki was somewhere far from here. Ritsu doubted both scenarios. She sniffed again and tried to localize the source of the scent. Much to her surprise, her nose led to the opposite direction, towards Hikaru's jacket.

She looked the redhead flatly, "You're the one who smells like alcohol, though you're the last person I'd expect to drink." Unless of course, the boy had some sort of hardcore significant other who funnels the stuff down his throat. But, no, the scent was too faint. Ritsu crossed her arms and thought about a plan B, yet all that pops in her mind was the great possibility that whoever drank the booze did something... questionable... to the jacket.

Ritsu immediately pushed the thought away from her mind. It was none of her business if the sister had a thing for the brother. That kind of stuff was more common in Kumo, with all the girl wailing 'Onii-chan, ehe~' everywhere.

'What the hell is this...? Some sort of messed up manga...?'

[Hikaru]

Hikaru pushed himself up once the snow is starting to prickle through his pants and dusts himself from all the snow. "Yeah, alcohol. She drank a lot yesterday, I had to carry her to her room and make sure she's sleeping comfortably." As long as he keeps an eye on her at all times and staying with her until she's safely in her bed, Hikaru doesn't find what's so bad about letting his sister drink.

The redhead stopped moving when he realized Ritsu froze, apparently sniffing the air around. "...What are you doing?" After a short moment, he was told that he's the one who smells like alcohol. "Eh?? I do..??" He began to sniff the sleeve of his jacket and blinked. "...Oh! That's because I covered her with this jacket before I carried her to her bed!"

He grinned innocently, almost proudly, of being such a responsible big brother he thought he could be. "And I DO drink, I'm 18 now," he added just to prove that he could...if he wanted to. He didn't want to admit to her that the strongest thing he ever drank was a bottle of coke and that's it.