Introduction

Everyone knows how bad a memory Itsuki has. He has the unwanted ability to forget even the most unique events of his life…a fact that Shino knows too well. Everyone knows that Itsuki forgot Shino and his crush…but what else did Itsuki forget? What made Shino love him so much anyway? It's Shino's turn to tell the story…

Chapter One; First Meeting

He first met him at the park.

Left alone on the swings as the night slowly drew in, he rocked gently, his small feet barely leaving the ground with each swing. His hands gripped at the cold metal chains clumsily, delicate brow furrowed as he struggled to fly like the other kids did here, unable to push himself off with enough force to send him soaring.

He was practically in tears by the time the sun had set fully, the park lit only by the light from the lamps that had flickered into existence one by one as the shadows increased in number. Sniffing miserably, he stared down at his feet, only to start as another pair of trainers came into view, their owner standing only a few inches in front of him.

"Why are you crying?" The high pitched voice of a child asked, and Shino looked up to see a boy his age gazing down at him in confusion, worried dark eyes looking out from a chubby face. He looked down again, ashamed to be seen in such a state by another boy, but the stranger just crouched down so that he could still see his face.

"What's wrong?" The boy tried again, and Shino was embarrassed to feel his tears finally overflowing, two rivers streaming down his round cheeks as he sobbed hard.

"I ca…can't swing hi…high enough!" He finally got out, eyes screwed shut so that he didn't have to see the jeering expression of the other boy.

There was silence for a moment, then the sound of crunching gravel as someone moved behind him, closely followed by the small whisper in his ear.

"I can push you if you want." Starting at the offer, Shino opened his eyes and glanced back over his shoulder, comforted by the reassuring nod he got in return. Turning back to face the front with a determined expression on his face, he nodded, biting his lip as he felt the other boy's hands press against his back, starting him rocking again.

Ten minutes later, and there was no trace of the crying child that had been there before. Only a laughing eight year old soaring through the air, pushed by a boy behind him who was laughing just as much. Shino screamed in delighted fear as he felt the air whooshing past his ears, watching with wonder as his feet seemed to go higher than the trees with each of the boy's pushes.

Eventually though, young as he was, the other boy tired, and Shino felt himself beginning to slow down, his swings getting lower and lower until the boy was finally able to grab the chains and hold the swing still so that Shino could jump off.

Smiling happily, the boy took in the way that Shino was still giggling and stuck out a hand like he'd seen the grown-ups do, chuckling as Shino blinked and took it shyly.

"I'm Itsuki." The boy said, grinning widely at his new friend.

"Sh…Shino." Shino replied softly, a slight blush painting his cheeks as they shook hands.

"That's a nice name." Itsuki murmured, squinting in thought. "I wish I was named after a stem of bamboo…" Shino blinked at Itsuki's wistful expression, frowning as he dug his small hands into his pockets. It was cold out, and he hadn't got any gloves with him.

"But your name must mean something too…" He protested. Itsuki shook his head, pulling a face.

"It doesn't mean anything. It's just a name. I hate it…why do grown-ups choose the name of their baby before they're born? Couldn't they just wait until we're old enough and ask us?" He complained.

Shino fell quiet, looking sadly down at the ground.

"But doesn't that prove how much they love us? It's like they're promising to be with us forever, in our names…" He whispered, hunching his shoulders. "If I didn't have a name, Mummy and Daddy wouldn't be able to stay with me."

Itsuki tensed, wrapping an arm around his new friend as he saw tears appear in the other boy's eyes again.

"Where are your Mummy and Daddy? Are they coming to get you later?" He asked, pulling Shino's head to rest gently on his shoulder. Shino shuddered, huddling closer to the warmth next to him.

"Mummy and Daddy went away…they went off to work and their bus crashed…I live with Obaasan now. She doesn't know I'm out." He murmured pitifully.

Itsuki's grip tightened, and suddenly Shino found himself pulled into a proper hug that left him feeling warm and safe.

"My Daddy went away too…but I let him use my body so that he can still talk to Mummy." Itsuki said seriously, resting his head on top of Shino's. Shino buried closer, fingers gripping the folds of Itsuki's coat firmly as he pulled himself as near as he could get.

"Could I do that for Obaasan?"

"Don't think so…you have to be gifted like me." Seeing Shino's crushed expression, Itsuki hastened to add "But maybe, one day…"

"Really?" Shino gasped, pulling back to stare up at Itsuki in wonder. Itsuki laughed, reaching out with a hand to ruffle Shino's hair.

"You're cute. I like you. I'm glad I went looking for frogs today now…because I met you!"

"Frogs?"

"Yeah…I love them. Their faces just make me laugh. But it's too cold for them now – they're all asleep." Itsuki laughed. Shino giggled slightly, wrapping his arms around his friend's waist.

"Maybe Itsuki can mean frog then." He said solemnly. Itsuki stared down at him for a moment, before breaking into a wide grin, eyes sparkling.

"That's a great idea, Shino! Maybe we could…"

"Shino! Shino, get here right now!" The pair started at the angry voice that suddenly broke the near silence of the park, and Shino cringed as he saw his grandmother making her way towards them, shawl flying forbiddingly behind her like a villain's cloak.

"Uh oh…Obaasan's found me…" He gulped. Itsuki took in Shino's crushed expression and his grandmother's furious scowl, feeling a stab of pity for his friend. If he'd been Shino, he would have sneaked out too.

"Itsuki? We'll see each other again, right? I want to play with you again!" Shino pleaded. Itsuki smiled, tipping his head to the side as he thought about it.

"Of course we will."

"Promise me!" Shino said desperately, hands gripping at Itsuki's coat once again. Itsuki carefully extracted himself, gazing down at the emotional boy in front of him.

Then, giggling, he pressed his lips clumsily against Shino's, pulling back to see the other boy's shocked expression.

"I promise, Shino. But you'd better go now…your grandmother's waiting."

Nodding silently, Shino numbly turned and walked towards his grandmother, not paying attention to her angry words or the iron grip she had on his wrist as she led him away.

Instead, he just touched his lips with wondering fingers, his small cheeks flushed with something he couldn't describe.

It was years later, when Shino turned 13, that he realised what he had felt back then. Itsuki, with all his childish innocence and caring, had been Shino's first love.

And his first kiss too.

Sitting in school and gazing out the window, Shino pushed the memory to the back of his head, telling himself firmly that there was no point thinking about something that had happened so long ago. Not when five years had passed without the pair ever meeting each other again. Itsuki had lied when he'd promised Shino that they'd see each other again one day. Itsuki meant nothing to him anymore.

Glancing at the pretty girl sitting next to him with her arm linked through his, Shino tried his hardest to believe that.

A year passed, and the shy but handsome young man that all the girls had had crushes on was dumped by his girlfriend. No one was completely sure what had happened, but rumour had it that she had attempted to further their relationship one night only to have Shino panic and push her away, a look of horrified discomfort on his face. He hadn't dated anyone since.

For a while, life seemed to continue on as normal, but then rumours began spreading about Shino's preferences. At first they were dismissed, but after watching Shino carefully for some time and seeing the unreadable look he sometimes got in his eyes when looking at a particularly striking boy, they were accepted as fact. From then on, Shino's life, both in and out of school, became hell.

Meeting a constant barrage of abuse every day from both students, and shockingly, teachers alike, Shino seemed to die inside, retreating further inside himself until there was very little left of the boy he had once been. Shyness turned into an almost palpable fear of people. Tentative smiles became blank expressions always on the verge of grief or terror.

People claimed to finally understand why he had reacted so strongly to his girlfriend's advances, and why he seemed to prefer the company of his male friends over the possibility of dating again. They backed up their claims with violence and other unfavourable reactions, forgetting in their prejudice that this boy had been a classmate of theirs for nearly three years.

Things escalated until a particularly violent encounter with a group of boys and a large flight of stairs nearly cost Shino his life, leaving him in a coma with massive head trauma and a broken leg.

Two months later and Shino woke up to the news that they were moving to another city where he'd be enrolled in another, less bigoted school. He took the news calmly, although he was terrified inside.

Perhaps if he'd known who he was about to meet, he'd have been less scared.

Author's Note

Well...there's my first Eerie Queerie fic! Part of it, anyway. I know we're meant to like Hasanuma/Mitsuo best, but personally I can't help liking Itsuki/Shino and Mikuni/Kanau even more! I was hooked on Shino and Itsuki the moment I read book 3, and I love them to bits!

This story's been floating around in my head for a few months now, but I never had time to write it before...sorry this chapter was so short, but it was really more of a prologue than a real chapter! And for anyone who's wondering, Kawazu No Koishii should roughly translate as Beloved of Frogs or something like that...I'm sorry - I can't speak Japanese, and online translators can only do so much when not using kanji!

Read and review please!