The Portrait I Paint

A/N Sorry for the long wait but I've finally managed to get this one out. I've redone a lot of this chapter but the baseline of the story is the same. I've only added some more detail and changed a few of the characters' names to either match canon or just because I didn't like them.

Hope you enjoy ^^/

+ In my OC's previous life he was a troubled bigender teen so the pronouns I use will be traditional ones like Them, They, Their. As Hibiki/Natsuhiko I'll be using He and His. (He's still bigender but to avoid any confusion while reading I've chosen to use him and he from the larger parts of the fic.)

++For record Hibiki is 8 years older than Akihiko and 6 years older that Haruhiko

*Machiya 町屋/町家 traditional town house

*Hibiki: echo, sound

Chapter One

Naegi Ren, Inohana Hibiki and Usami Natsuhiko

Naegi Ren sat on the edge of their bathtub with the tap running in the background as they put a rusty razor blade to their wrists.

Their normally tidy attire hung loosely off of their body, the long dark curls of their wig lay discarded by their feet and the makeup they'd applied perfectly onto their face yesterday before going out was smudged all over their grim features.

Suicide wasn't an unfamiliar concept to Ren. They'd done it before, again and again, over and over before finally stopping at the pleas of their only friend. They'd sworn to never again put their life in danger and had managed to keep that promise for the past 4 years.

But what happened yesterday had been the last straw. The humiliation. The disgust and fear had driven Ren to the edge of his already rocky relationship with death.

After sending a final goodbye message to their friend Ren slashed both of their wrists with fury and plunged them into the warm water. Ren welcomed the oncoming pain as if it were an old friend and smiled as they saw the water slowly turn a red hue.

For a moment, Ren turned to the full-length mirror that hung next to the bathtub and chuckled at how pathetic their frail figure looked.

Slowly, but surely, Ren could feel their vision failing as the world around them became more and more blurred. Soon, a familiar darkness overtook Ren's senses to which Ren chuckled at lightly before being swallowed by it whole.

Never did Ren regret what they did but if there was one thing, they did regret it was causing so much trouble for the old man who came rushing into the bathroom calling their name.

"REN! REN! WAKE UP REN!"

His frantic voice was the last thing Ren heard before succumbing to the darkness.

Naegi Ren died on the evening of July 1st after being rushed to hospital after a suicide attempt. He was buried 4 days later in the local cemetery after having the body's organs donated to various unknown people. Despite being the eldest of three siblings, the only person to ever visit Ren's grave was an elder painter who offered flowers to the grave each week.

Pain, Hurt and Wet were the only thoughts that filled Ren's mind as they were suddenly pushed out of the tight darkness, they'd woken up in.

A bright light blinded them as they were fully freed and caught by a warm pair of wrinkled hands. Those hands held Ren gently and wrapped a soft sheet around their body. It may seem unbelievable but it was at that moment Ren realized that they'd been reborn and for some reason that didn't bother them in the slightest. What bothered them was what they'd have to call themselves now that they were no longer Naegi Ren. He decided to listen to his surroundings to find out. Surprisingly they found themselves being able to understand what the others around him were saying.

"Heh, looks just like his tou-san this one."

"Well, his tou-san would like to hold him if you don't mind jii-san."

With a shifting of hands, he was passed to what he understood to be his father.

"Aww~ look Yukiko. He has our eyes."

"Hmm, unpredictable I tell you."

His father seemed to ignore what the woman had said and focused his attention solely on his small figure.

"You're a quiet one aren't you? Guess I did a pretty good job in choosing your name as *Hibiki."

The woman scoffed at this and said, "There's no point talking to him. He can't understand you."

Even in the early moments of his life, Hibiki found he held a certain dislike for the woman who birthed him and was significantly glad when she disappeared from his life a few days later. His father and grandfather seemed to share the same sentiments as the men simply continued on with their lives as if nothing had happened.

For a few months Hibiki grew up in northern Hokkaido in his grandfather's *Machiya but as his first birthday came by his father decided it was time for a change and moved them down to Tokyo. Stubbornly his grandfather refused to do so and so it became only his father and him from then on.

…

Inohana Taiichi was nothing like Ren's father. Ren's father had been one of those stereotypical Asian parents that had left the child-caring to his wife while hardly even glancing at his children after coming home from work. The scarcely few days Ren had managed to get any alone time with the man was filled with memories of harsh ridicule and disappointment from both sides. The man was constantly demanding for more and never seemed satisfied with anything. While the trait was anything but a flaw to Ren it had been too much to handle.

Inohana Taiichi was nothing like that. While the young man of only 22 years was straight forward in his words, he was far gentler in his wording and overall seemed more content with his life as it was. He gave the love Ren had craved for so earnestly so easily and freely Hibiki didn't know what to do at times.

"Do you love me?" Hibiki had once asked Taiichi. His question seemed to baffle Taiichi as for split second before the older man managed to make sense of his son's words.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Not really…"

"You're my son. Of course, I love you."

Taiichi had then ruffled Hibiki's short red curls and pressed a gentle kiss to the toddler's clear forehead.

"No matter what, even if I were to leave this earth, I will always love you Hibiki. Never forget that alright?"

Hibiki didn't know what to respond to his father's words but buried his reddening cheeks into the older man's chest while mumbling a short, "M'kay."

Taiichi had laughed at this and while Hibiki disliked the fact he'd been laughed at, it didn't escape his notice that he was growing fond of his father's gentle laughter.

…

Besides the fondness he felt for his father, there was something else Hibiki especially liked about his new life. It was his appearance.

While he was technically too young to account for his overall appearance Hibiki was quick to take to his deep red curls and mismatched pupils. His father had straighter locks and his grandfather's thinning hair was a deeper shade than both of them but all three Inohana men shared the trait of red hair and icy blue eyes of some form. When Hibiki asked why this was his father had explained it to him while showing him an album of their various red-headed ancestors.

"In the Meiji period, one of our ancestors fell in love with a prostitute of Yoshiwara. The prostitute was a foreigner, probably of European descent, that had been sold to the red-light district by a traveling merchant as a child. For years she was sold to man after man who only sought after her for her unique red hair and blue eyes.

Our ancestor was one of these lustful males. One of his close friends had told him about the red headed prostitute once but back then he had no money to spend so he wasn't able to see her in person. But a few months later he suddenly inherited a large sum of money from his grandfather. With the inheritance he had gained our ancestor immediately went to Yoshiwara to celebrate.

One taste of the foreign beauty and he was gone just like that. He paid for the prostitute's ransom with the remainder of his inheritance and married the prostitute shortly after in a secret ceremony and introduced her into the family as his personal servant.

It was only after his parents had died that the prostitute was allowed to become his official wife. By then the couple had already passed 40 but miraculously they managed to conceive and birth a set of twins into their small family. Both twins shared their mother's pale completion, fiery red hair, and sharp icy blue eyes.

Since then each generation of the Inohana's have passed these traits down onto the next until it eventually was passed down to us."

Hibiki was fascinated by his family's history. He pestered Taiichi constantly to tell him more about his heritage whenever he could. While most would find this annoying Taiichi would always smile and take Hibiki onto his lap before taking out another family album to show to the enthusiastic child.

If there was one part of his heritage Hibiki wasn't particularly curious about, it was the light violet hue of his left eye. His right eye was the same hue of blue as all Inohanas but his left was a strangely violet tone that he was told resembled that of his mother's.

Speaking of the woman Hibiki eventually found out what happened to her through his father. The man was surprisingly truthful to him and told him that she was the only daughter and heiress to a filthy rich family who were not willing to risk everything for a shameful mistake.

"Yukiko-chan would have loved you."

Taiichi's eyes had held a glint of sadness as he said this so Hibiki never brought up the woman again. He doubted the woman would have loved him though.

…

As mentioned before, death wasn't something Hibiki was unfamiliar with. But the kind of death Hibiki had to go through when he saw his father being wheeled into the surgery room was something entirely different from what he was used to.

Chronic heart failure.

Taiichi had been born with a congenital heart defect that had worsened as time passed. He had been lucky enough to receive a transplant in his young teens but that had recently started to fail as well. Just before Hibiki had been born Taiichi been placed him on the organ transplant waiting list once again but ultimately, he hadn't been able to receive another one in time.

Hibiki had never known this. Despite Taiichi's honesty he'd kept the condition from Hibiki. In all honesty if Hibiki had looked closer he could have noticed the signs. The pills Taiichi had said were vitamins, the frequent visits to the hospital, and all the other medical symptoms that should have shouted out to him that his father was ill.

Hibiki had been trapped in the perfect bubble of happiness he had built until the day came when he had to say goodbye to the corpse of the man, he called his father before it was taken away to be cremated. It was then that his grandfather had explained the cause of Taiichi's sudden death.

It was then that the elderly man had taken Hibiki into his arms and let out a violent choke of tears. Soon Hibiki's cries followed his grandfather's. He wept and cried out for his father but for once his father couldn't come to comfort him. The only hands that wiped away his tears were the wrinkled fingers of his grandfather. He was the only comfort Hibiki could rely on now and vice versa. They were all that was left.

…

The funeral was held in Hokkaido where Taiichi's cremated remains were sealed in the ancestral grave. It didn't surprise Hibiki when he wasn't taken back to Tokyo. He also wasn't that surprised when his grandfather had vehemently opposed to a social worker's suggestion of moving up to Tokyo so he could stay in a familiar surrounding while getting used to his father's absence.

While moving a grieving 5-year-old away from his childhood home so soon after his father's death may have seemed cruel to some Hibiki preferred this as he could visit Taiichi's grave more often. The apartment Hibiki had lived in with Taiichi had been rented so his grandfather had gone to Tokyo alone with some movers to retrieve their personal items that were later either stored in the attic or in Hibiki's room.

Inohana Daichi's stoic personality and his tendency to do things without consulting others reminded Hibiki a bit of Ren's father. But unlike the former Daichi at least knew when to stop and actually took the time to help Hibiki with things he struggled with.

While living with Taiichi, Hibiki had spent most of the time looking after potted plants or in the kitchen helping the older man but now, he spent most of his time cooped up in Daichi's art studio, painting alongside the elderly man and soaking up the knowledge he provided him. Hibiki learnt a lot from his grandfather and looked up to him.

In a way Hibiki saw a bit of his old friend in his grandfather. He saw snippets of the kind old man that Ren used to watch paint in the park. That man used to be the only man Ren cared about and the only man who Ren had ever trusted. Maybe it was due to this that Hibiki grew notably more reserved and distant from anyone other than his grandfather.

…

Years passed by and slowly Daiichi's age began to catch up with him. He passed away just after Hibiki turned 17. His death alone visibly crushed Hibiki but to add to the grief of losing his grandfather the young adult was assaulted with piles of legal issues regarding his age.

While his grandfather had left his entire fortune and legal properties to him by law, he wasn't allowed to inherit any of his inheritance until he was of age. To add to this fact Hibiki wasn't allowed to even remain living in his grandfather's Machiya alone without the consent of a legal guardian. Because Daiichi had named no one in his will he authorities had tried in vain to find any remaining kin on his father's side while they struggled to even identify the woman, "Kominato Yukiko", Daichi had named as Hibiki's mother.

It was only when they noticed a steady income of money coming from the account of a woman named 'Usami Nastuko' and put two and two together that they were able to track down Hibiki's mother.

…

Hibiki's meeting with the violet eyed woman went as good as anyone expected. While she didn't deny the fact Hibiki was her son, a permanent scowl wrinkled her smooth features as she had to sign paper after paper. When the last remaining document was signed and filed Hibiki became her legal ward and child.

While Hibiki would have rather died than gone to live with her, 'the Usami clan' weren't ones to leave one of their own blood to their own devices when said blood was an orphan who they could mold into one of their pawns.

The elders tried to act like they were giving Hibiki a chance of a greater life of wealth and stability, not knowing Hibiki had an inheritance of a small fortune in land and money.

They acted as if they were being compassionate by even accepting a disgrace such as an illegitimate child into their premises. It disgusted Hibiki down to the bone but he could do nothing as they would have him one way or the other.

In the end, Hibiki signed a contract with the elders. In the contract nothing in his inheritance would be remotely touched by the clan besides the regular cleaning of his estates until he became of age in the condition, he would change his name to the Usami traditions and take on his responsibilities as a member of their household during that time.

Even before the ink of the contract had dried Inohana Hibiki had become Usami Natsuhiko. The elders had been especially persistent on giving him that name as they said it cemented his claim as his dear mother's child.

By then Hibiki was simply too tired to argue. In a few days, he had lost his grandfather, met his birth mother and her extended family, had his name changed and was whisked off to the Usami estate where she, her husband, and their other children lived.

As Hibiki saw the large mansion he was reminded of the large mansion from a Yaoi manga Ren often read. He had his suspicions as he was reminded of his new surname and after being introduced to his two younger half siblings Hibiki couldn't deny being reborn into a Yaoi Manga.