The Boardinghouse

by alithealligator

Doukun originally thought that his mother had been crazy to sign him up for a boardinghouse over the summer, but the sight of strangely familiar faces and feelings of belonging caused him to rethink the situation. [Chirikocentric]

Author's Notes: This has been sitting on my computer for the longest time, so I figured I might as well put it up and see if people like it. :3 Whether or not it gets continued will depend on how people like it, although I won't be heartbroken if I don't end up doing any more with it. But! If you, my lovely readers, get a kick out of it, I'll try my best to keep working on it.

This is mostly an introductory chapter, just so you'll be aware. So don't chew me out for lack of anything major happening. D

And yes, I'm aware the title sucks. I'll change it eventually if I can come up with something better.

Once again, much thanks goes to Archana, quite possibly the best editor ever.

Summary: Doukun originally thought that his mother had been crazy to sign him up for a boardinghouse over the summer, but the sight of strangely familiar faces and feelings of belonging caused him to rethink the situation. Chiriko-centric

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"You doing alright back there?"

Ou Doukun tore his gaze away from the window of the black sedan he was riding in, seeing that the driver of the car, his uncle, was looking at him through the rear-view mirror. He realized that he had been staring out of that window for at least half an hour; he would have read, but unfortunately he already had motion sickness as it was. Reading while riding in a car was tempting fate. "Oh… Yes, I'm fine, thank you very much."

"No problem, kiddo. We'll be there in about ten more minutes."

"Alright."

Doukun turned his head back towards the window, watching the telephone poles fly by as they sped along. Truth be told, he wasn't feeling all that great. He had never gotten along well with long road trips, as extended hours on the road did funny things to his stomach. But where they were going was another thing altogether.

It hadn't been his idea to go to a boardinghouse; it had been his mothers. She claimed that Doukun 'didn't get out enough' and 'was too quiet for his own good.' It was true that he was rather reserved, but placing him in a boardinghouse with other people his age? Surely she could have just made him go to a community center or something. Doukun loved his mother very much, but he wasn't sure about her judgment here. He knew she had his best interest at heart, but really, Doukun wasn't looking forward to this at all.

It didn't help that when his mother had called the place, he found that he would be the youngest person there by four years. Doukun was a thirteen-year-old male who looked like an eight-year-old female. (He had never been teased about this fact outright, but he knew that his classmates often joked about it behind his back.) Also, he liked to spend his free time studying, reading, and watching educational programs on television. How more out of place could he possibly be? He was hardly a normal boy his age.

But he tried to keep optimistic about the experience, despite how dreary the prospect looked. Perhaps they would all be nice people who wouldn't mind his differences. He sincerely hoped so; he would hate to spend the summer vacation completely miserable.

They turned onto a smaller road, which was less smooth than the one before it. He looked down towards his knees, hoping he didn't look as queasy as he felt. He thought to himself that this place was really out there. Down the way they were going, it didn't seem like was much was around. He spotted a small convenience store along with a few houses scattered around, but not much else.

"Almost there," his uncle said, squinting through the windshield. "Yep, I see it. Down the road a bit a ways and to the right."

Doukun looked up and indeed saw the building. He had seen it before; they had gotten information about the place when his mother had registered him. But it seemed more magnificent in real life. It wasn't too big, but its face was truly a sight to behold and its traditional arches made it a grand and beautiful building.

But the beauty of the complex did not help his nerves as they pulled into the property. Doukun could feel his heart beating against his chest as he bit his lip. He looked down to himself and straightened out his shirt. His mother had wanted him to look nice for his first day, and had insisted that he wear a white dress shirt and black slacks. He had gotten out of wearing a tie, thankfully.

Doukun made sure his ponytail was secure as they stopped in front of the entryway. Thankful that the ride was over, he stepped out of the car and breathed in the fresh, pleasant air. A faint floral scent told him there was a garden somewhere on the property.

"So? What do you think?" his uncle asked as he opened the trunk.

Doukun walked to the back of the car in order to help remove his luggage. He swung his backpack over his shoulder as he replied, "It's a nice place."

"I think so too. I think you'll have a nice time here."

"I hope so."

Doukun took one of his suitcases while his uncle took the other two. After closing the trunk, they walked up the stairs towards the door. But before they could ring the doorbell, a woman who appeared to be in her early thirties opened it. She brushed a bit of her long brunette hair from her eyes and smiled softly at them before saying, "I heard you come up." She looked down to Doukun and said, "You must be our new boarder."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, nodding. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

He extended his hand to her and she shook it while saying, "So polite!"

While they were shaking hands, Doukun thought he caught a glimpse of a pretty violet-haired girl peeking around a corner down the hall, but after doing a double take she had gone. He wasn't sure whether or not it had been his imagination.

His attention was brought back to the warden as she said, "Please, come in! I'll take you up to your room." He and his uncle were led through the hall and up a flight of stairs while his uncle asked a few questions.

"Will he be sharing a room?"

"Oh no, we have plenty of space."

Doukun was relieved; he wasn't sure how good of a roommate he would have been.

"So, they're allowed to go out and such?" They reached the top of the stairs and she turned to the left, down a hall. They followed her.

"Yes they are, only curfew's eleven o'clock for those under eighteen."

"Don't worry," Doukun assured her, "I'm not very much of a night owl."

She laughed airily and said, while opening the door to a room at the end of the hall, "I hope, perhaps, you will rub off on some of the others. Well, this will be your room."

Doukun followed his uncle inside. It was a nicely furnished room with a bed, bookshelf and dresser. It seemed to have a soft blue theme to it, as the bedspread and the curtains on the window were both sky blue. Doukun smiled softly; he could easily get used to that.

"I hope you don't mind, I happen to like decorations like this." The warden was motioning towards the bed frame and window treatments; the room had an English-country feel to it.

"Oh, no, not at all," Doukun said, watching his uncle place the suitcases at the foot of the bed. "It's charming."

"Ah!" The warden said, giving herself a small smack to the forehead. Doukun looked around at her, slightly alarmed. "I've forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Kinomoto Kaori, but Kaori will do just fine."

"Ou Doukun," he said. He wiped the surprised expression from his face while giving her a polite bow from the waist.

"And I'm Ou Koujiro," his uncle said, smiling once more. "It's been a pleasure, Miss Kaori."

After Doukun had placed the remaining suitcase at the end of the bed and removed his backpack, Karoi had led his uncle back to the door. They gave hasty goodbyes, for Koujiro had to hurry back in order to pick up his son from a friend's house.

"He won't give you any trouble, I'm sure," Koujiro told the warden, and she replied, "He seems the trustworthy type."

"Be sure to call your mother sometime this week, otherwise she'll start worrying."

"Okay, I will." Doukun wrapped his arms around his uncle's waist. (He only came up to his chest anyway.) "Thank you for driving me."

"Anytime! Well, have fun, kiddo." Koujiro ruffled his hair a bit before patting him firmly on the back. Doukun released him, and all too soon his uncle, the only familiar person here, was driving away.

"Well now," Kaori said, patting Doukun's shoulder, "would you like to unpack first? Or meet the others? I'm sure they're all around here somewhere. Probably in the den."

"Uh…" Doukun replied, not looking forward to the introduction at all.

"Let's go ahead and meet them, that way they can help you unpack!" Before Doukun could say anything, she was leading him back through the hall. Doukun shoved his hands into his pockets and followed her. His throat was tightening in anxiety.

"Hey!" Kaori cried out, causing Doukun to jump. "Where are you guys?"

A bright, female voice replied from nearby. "They're mostly in the den, I think. But I'm right here!" The same violet-haired girl Doukun had seen from the doorway appeared from behind a corner near the end of the hall.

"Okay, thanks," Kaori replied. She turned to Doukun and placed a hand on his shoulder, moving him in front of her. "Doukun, this is Ryuuen. Ryuuen, this is the new boarder I told you about earlier, Doukun."

The girl named Ryuuen smiled brightly at him and took the steps necessary in order to be within arms distance of him. She extended her hand and he took it. "It's nice to meet you, Doukun-kun." She paused, and looked a pit perplexed before grinning. "That's kind of strange, isn't it? Doukun-kun."

He smiled sheepishly and replied, "Yes, I'm afraid my mother didn't think of that when she named me."

"Ah well," she said, brushing a bit of her violet hair from her eyes. "I think it's cute!" Doukun blushed at the compliment and they released each other's hands.

"Anyway, you can call me Nuriko if you like, mostly everyone else does."

Somehow, the name was very familiar to him. It was as if remembering a friend he had once had… Perhaps he had known a Nuriko in elementary school? Or maybe he had come across the name in study…

He was brought out of his thoughts as Ryuuen bent over in order to be at eye level with him. "You alright?"

As their noses were almost touching, Doukun took a step backwards from her as he said, "Yes, I'm sorry."

She smiled at him again, and Doukun suddenly felt much less anxious about this place. If everyone else were half as nice as Ryuuen was, then it would be no problem at all.

Ryuuen then, quite suddenly, and with a grip that didn't suit a girl so slender, grabbed Doukun's wrist and began to lead Doukun down the hall. "Come on," she said, giving him a small tug that was evidently supposed to get him to hurry up, but he almost felt his feet lift from the ground. "We've got to introduce you to the others!"

Kaori was snickering at the pair as she followed behind them, amused. "You're too much, hun."

Ryuuen replied by sticking out her tongue at Kaori, before turning into the doorway of the main room of the house. Doukun noticed an off-white semi-circular couch that stood before a TV that sat in an entertainment center against the farthest wall from the door. There were several chairs and a card table in one corner of the room, along with a bookshelf in another corner. He noticed that there were several pictures and mirrors on the walls.

"Everyone!" Ryuuen said loudly, and heads turned in order to look at her. Doukun's attention was brought first to a man with bright blue hair, then to a man with flaming red hair. The man with the red hair, who was sitting on the couch with the blue-haired man and another person with long, chestnut hair, said, "What d'ya want?" He then looked down to Doukun and said, one eyebrow raised in confusion, "Who's that?"

Doukun's attention was brought away from the red-haired man as another stood up; he had been at the card table with a magazine. Doukun couldn't help but gape at him; he had to be over six feet tall. The man spoke in a very deep, but gentle voice. "He's the new one, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is," Ryuuen replied, although she wasn't looking at the gentle giant; she was glaring at the red-haired man. But her expression brightened before she continued. "And I want to introduce you guys to him!"

The tallest man of the group stopped before them, smiling gently down to Doukun. He didn't know why, but Doukun felt a connection with the man that he couldn't explain. The man seemed to take Doukun's expression as anxiety and he said, "Don't worry, we're not a bad group."

"Except Genrou," Ryuuen said, glaring at the fiery-haired man once more. The four other men who inhabited the house were standing around Kaori, Ryuuen and Doukun, all looking pleasant except Ryuuen and the man named Genrou; they looked angry at each other, but Doukun somehow knew that the anger was not genuine.

"Anyway," Ryuuen said, flipping her hair, "this," she placed her hand on Doukun's shoulder, "is Doukun. Isn't he cute?" Doukun felt himself blush again. She motioned with her hand to the man who was standing to the very left; it was the man with blue hair. "This is Houjun," she said.

He smiled and said, "It's nice to meet you, no da." Doukun returned the smile and gave him a small nod, although the 'no da' had thrown him off a bit.

"This guy is Genrou," Ryuuen continued, to which Genrou gave a "Yo," stuffing his hands into pockets of his jeans. "Call me Tasuki."

"A-Alright," Doukun replied. He then looked to the face of the next man, and was slightly surprised to find that he recognized him. "You… Your name is Hitei, isn't it?"

The man's eyes widened slightly as he said, "Yes it is. How did…?" But then recognition dawned on his face as he remembered. "Yes, we've met before, I remember now. It was at the library, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Doukun said, smiling; he was glad he was familiar with at someone here. "I remember your face."

Hitei did not look surprised at all by this; he actually laughed and said, "My face is hard to forget, I'm afraid."

"Eheh," Doukun said softly, the man's narcissism was evident, but charming in a strange way.

He then looked up to the last man, who had extended his large hand to Doukun. He took it, and the man introduced himself. "I'm Myojuan. It's a pleasure to meet you, Doukun."

"Likewise," Doukun replied, and Ryuuen clapped her hands together and said, "Lovely, now we're all settled."

Kaori, who had watched the scene silently, then said, "Whosever turn it is to make dinner should get on that. I know it's not mine."

Genrou grumbled something under his breath and made towards the door, but Ryuuen held out an arm and stopped him. "I'll make it tonight, we wouldn't want Doukun dying his first night here." She grinned and pranced out the door; Houjun was grinning while the others looked amused as well. Genrou was speechless for a moment before following Ryuuen out the door, yelling after her.

Kaori peered around the corner before looking back to the others. "Does one of you want to help him unpack?" She placed a hand on Doukun's shoulder once more, but he quickly interjected.

"Oh, it's fine, I can do it myself."

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind," she said, looking down to him.

"It's alright. I wouldn't want to interrupt what they were doing anyway."

After insisting to the others that he would be fine, he exited the room with Kaori, who asked him, "Can you get back up there by yourself?"

"Yes, I remember where it is."

"Good. I want to make sure Ryuuen and Genrou aren't killing each other."

Doukun smiled sheepishly at her as she turned into another hall, leaving him alone. It didn't take him long to find his room again, he had a very good memory, concerning most things. He pulled one of his suitcases from the ground and onto the bed, and opened it, finding it filled with clothing. He located the dresser and opened one of the drawers, then began placing his neatly folded shirts inside.

He hadn't been at it very long before he heard a knock at the door, which surprised him since he had left it open. He turned around to find Myojuan there, smiling at him. "I know you said you didn't need help, but I figured it'd be faster if I helped you. Nuriko is a good cook; you won't want to unpack anymore after you eat."

Doukun was slightly taken aback, but agreed to let him help nevertheless, and thanked him for it.

"It's nothing," he insisted, as he picked up another of Doukun's suitcases and opened it. "I wasn't doing much before you got here, anyway."

"What were you reading?" Doukun asked him as he shook out a pair of jeans and refolded them.

"Oh, a medical journal," he replied, looking down into the suitcase he had opened, which was filled entirely with books. "I figure you won't get bored," he commented, motioning towards them.

Doukun rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed sort of way. "I… like to study."

Most people, when Doukun confided this truth to them, would exclaim something along the lines of, 'Like? To study? That's crazy!' But Myojuan simply nodded knowingly and began to place the books on the shelves without comment.

They unpacked in silence for several moments, but Doukun found that the silence was not awkward; rather it was calm, peaceful. It was almost as if they could carry on a conversation without words at all. It was a pleasant feeling.

But after a while, Myojuan spoke again. "So, you've really met Hotohori before?"

Doukun spoke without thinking. "Yes, we met at a library near my hometown." He paused; the next statement he was going to make was rather embarrassing. "I was having trouble reaching something and he helped me."

Myojuan nodded once more, but Doukun spoke again. "Wait… Hotohori?" Doukun had known that the person they were speaking of was Hitei. Perhaps it was just the context? But Doukun somehow felt like it was more than that.

"Oh, sorry, you must not know. Yes, we all have... you could call them 'nicknames' like that."

"What's yours?"

"Mitsukake."

"Mitsukake," Doukun repeated, as if mulling over the word. He then looked down to the suitcase he had been groping in to find it was empty. He removed it from the bed and grabbed the other one and pulled it onto the bed. Mitsukake.

They fell into silence as Doukun closed the drawers of his dresser, having finished putting away his clothing. He was halfway through pulling out one of his most prized possessions as Myojuan asked, "What is that?"

"Oh," Doukun muttered, before pulling it fully out of the suitcase. "These are court robes. My father got them for me in Osaka a very long time ago." He had always liked them; they were a perfect shade of green to match his eyes. "I use them for decoration, I'm no where near big enough to ever wear them."

Myojuan smiled at him. "You'll grow, I'm sure."

"Perhaps. But I'm not so sure. One would think I'd be taller than I am right now. My brother's lucky. He's the one who got all the height." Doukun rummaged in the suitcase until he found a collapsible rod he used to hang the robes from.

"How tall are your parents?" Myojuan asked, closing the suitcase, having finished placing books on the selves.

"Tall," Doukun replied, almost sadly. "My mom's five-eight and my dad's about six-two. I've asked my parents if, perhaps, they got the wrong baby from the hospital but they insist I'm just strange."

Myojuan laughed softly. Doukun could tell that this was not meant to be taken harshly, so he smiled in an embarrassed manner.

The pair of them finished their unpacking after about twenty more minutes, mostly held in the comfortable silence. They did begin to speak again, however, when Doukun had problems hanging up the robes.

"Here," Myojuan said, gently taking the robes from him and holding it up against the wall. "Is this were you wanted them?"

"Yeah," Doukun replied. Myojuan mutely secured the rod onto the wall, and then stepped back to admire it. "Very nice."

"Thanks," Doukun said, looking up to his face. "For everything."

"Don't mention it." After looking into each other's faces for a few moments, Doukun offered Myojuan a seat on his bed and he accepted. Doukun joined him.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Of course not," Myojuan answered, looking down to him. "What is it?"

"I just… wanted to know how old everyone was."

"Ah," Myojuan said, looking up to the ceiling, thinking. "Well, I'm twenty-two. Ryuuen is eighteen, and so is Hitei. Genrou is seventeen and Houjun is twenty-four."

"It figures Genrou would be the youngest," Doukun commented. He then hastily corrected himself. "Besides me, of course." As Myojuan was giving him a slightly questioning look, he added, "I'm thirteen. I know I hardly look it."

"No," Myojuan said softly. "You do seem your age. Your demeanor makes you seem older."

"You think so?" Doukun asked, slightly surprised.

"Of course."

Doukun looked to his knees, but couldn't help smiling. It was a good feeling, to be told this. And something told Doukun that Myojuan wasn't saying this just to be nice.

Time passed unusually quickly for Doukun while he was with Myojuan. It only felt like a few minutes they had been sitting, talking about the other boarders and the subjects of some of his books before Ryuuen interrupted them.

She poked her head out from behind the doorframe, her hair pulled back into a braid. Doukun guessed it was to keep it out of the way of the food. The braid was still swinging slightly in the air; she had apparently rushed to get to them. "Hey you two! I've finished cooking." She winked at him while adding, "I hope you like it. I made it especially for you."

Myojuan stood from the bed while Ryuuen came fully into view. She tossed the braid so it fell down her back like a strange, violet waterfall with a flick of her hand.

"Thanks very much," Doukun replied to her, getting to his feet as well and walking to her.

"It wasn't anything at all," she said happily. She stepped out of the doorway to let Myojuan and himself pass, before walking with them down the hall. They had just reached the top of the stairs before she spoke again.

"Can you cook?"

Doukun could only assume that she was addressing him, and when he looked up to see her face, he found that he was correct; she was staring back at him.

"Oh, well, I know how to make a few things. And if I have a recipe, I can manage to make other things all right. I'm probably not as good as you, though," he finished, giving her a small smile.

"She is an amazing cook," Myojuan said, looking down to her with a fondness like a brother would feel for a younger sister.

"Aw, stop it," she said, giving him a playful slap on the forearm, although Myojuan winced slightly, despite his large frame. "I'm sure you're good too."

Doukun shrugged as they stepped off the last stair into the hallway. "I think of it almost like a… well, a formula. You put certain things in and you get a result, if you figure it correctly."

Ryuuen's eyes widened slightly at this reasoning. She was a little taken aback at this literal approach to cooking. "You mean you, like… don't try out different things?"

"I don't trust myself doing that," he replied, his nose catching the smell of her food from the dining room. "I'd find some way to mess it up if I didn't follow the recipe, I'm sure."

She placed her hands on her hips as she paused outside the door, waiting for them to go inside. "I think I need to make dinner with you one night. Perhaps I'll teach you some of my tricks."

Myojuan chuckled softly as he went in, and Doukun thanked her softly, although he wasn't sure what exactly he had gotten himself into. He followed Myojuan inside to see the others already seated at the table.