Chapter Summary: Tanaka Yukio meets a dog and its owner, a certain Minami Ryusuke, and he realizes his fourteen year old life was about to get interesting.

Warning: Genderbent and swear words. If you're uncomfortable with either... Well, you've been warned.

Koyuki will be known as Tanaka for the early parts here.

Genderbent:

Tanabe - Takeba

Izumi - Izuki

Kayo - Kiyo

Mit-chan - Mit-tan

~o~

"Tanaka-kun... Tanaka-kun!"

The boy jolted at the sound of his name. He was too busy doodling to pay attention in class, and now he was called to read from the book.

"Oh!" Tanaka fumbled to pick up a book from his desk.

His classmate just a little ways off from him hid herself behind her book and whispered to him. "Idiot. Page 31." She said with a sneaky smirk.

"Right. Thanks." He whispered back, not thinking about the smirk as he was finding the page. He stood up and read from. The textbook about the Pythagorean theorem. For some reasons, his classmates started laughing quietly.

"That's true, Tanaka-kun. Unfortunately, it has little to do with English class." The teacher smiled, mildly amused.

That's when the class started laughing out loud and Tanaka sighed, taking his seat dejectedly as the teacher tried to make his class settle down.

Is this all there is? He had to wonder. Fourteen years old, and I already felt like my life was in a dead end.

Well... Until I met...

Him.

View at Fourteen.

"So Takeba, you read that article?"

"Yeap. Must be nice. Eighteen years old and a pop idol."

"Some life, huh. Then there's us. No one's going to be much in a hurry to read our memoirs."

Takeba made a look at her classmate. "Aw come on, relax. You're living your life just to write an auto-biography?" she rolled her eyes.

Why does he put up with her, one would wonder. Well, she was basically the only one who does talk to him and he was basically the only one who tolerated her... Quirks. There wasn't really much of a choice.

"No, of course not." Tanaka muttered lowly. "But still."

Takeba smirked. "What you need is a little thrill, Tanaka." She grabbed his arm and dragged him after her.

"Ack! Takeba!"

~o~

Taking pictures of the males of the school's swim club on the sly. Leave it to Takeba to think of the most awkward past times.

She kept snickering as she took the shots while he just tried hiding himself better behind the bushes. Suddenly, Takeba gasped dramatically and stopped taking shots. Tanaka looked at her.

"Hoooé... Omigod... It's Ishiguro-sempai!"

Tanaka widened his eyes and finally looked towards the swim club, his cheeks reddening, looking at the black haired guy in his swim trunks, exposing his abs, which Tanaka was sure would develop into a nice six packed when he gets into the right age, his hair wet and sleek... Well, from swimming. But it was usually styled properly, like how Prince Charming may have styled his hair.

That's right. Tanaka was gay.

"A handsome face, hot damn body, awesome at sports and at the top of his class!" Takeba squealed. "Ishiguro Izuki is the perfect male specimen and he's right here at Higashi Middle School! I get all hot just looking at him!"

Izuki turned to his team mate who was calling him for his turn.

"Okay... I'm gonna sell a hundred of these."

Tanaka wasn't even listening to Takeba anymore, his own face feeling too heated and him feeling too flustered.

"Camera. Don't fail me now." Takeba snickered. She positioned her camera, and zoomed right where Izuki's crotch was. But just before she could click the button, the camera was pulled away from her. "Hey!" She turned to him. "What you go and do that for? Ooooh, right, you wanna take the money shot yourself, huh you dog?" She snickered.

Tanaka didn't respond, looking thoughtful. Remembering... When he was a child and who Izuki was to him... his time as a kid in a Calligraphy class. A kid got his attention by painting across his face, saying it was an improvement to his gloomy face. Tanaka tried painting the kid's face back.

I still remembered. Back then, Izuki-nii was the only other kid who talked to me.

Then, Nakajima Calligraphy School shut down. They said their good byes that day, taking separate paths. Tanaka remembered running home crying that day. He had, after all, parted with the one true friend he ever had. He thought he'd never see him again.

Till now.

"Oi, give it back."

Izuki-nii, He smiled to himself, lost in his thoughts he didn't notice Takeba taking the camera back. Up until three years ago, that's what I called him.

"Hey, who's over there!?"

Takeba jolted, and made a run for it, leaving Tanaka.

Izuki raised his head at the commotion.

"See?! It's that weird chick, Takeba, in the bushes with a guy!" A girl team mate whined.

The team captain took a look. That's when Tanaka took his bag and went after Takeba.

"Hm, who are they, a couple of little seventh grade brats?"

"Do you know those two, Ishiguro? I think she had a camera. What a whore."

Izuki stared on. "Little Yuki, huh?" He muttered.

~o~

"Dang, that sucks. You think they had a good look at us?" Takeba asked as Tanaka was still catching his breath. "Ah well, let's hit the mall."

Tanaka didn't really have much to do, so he went along, following Takeba trying on outfits that were too small on her and make up that made her pass for a clown.

"Wanna grab some udon?"

Tanaka shrugged. "No, I'll pass. Still pretty broke."

"Oh," Takeba said uncaringly. "well, see you."

Tanaka looked around where he was to get his bearings. "Okay, not the best part of town." He muttered as he moved to find a place he was familiar with.

Unfortunately, that only led him to some thugs that beat him up. It was another hour before he got back to his neighborhood.

"Oww..." He winced, slumping down a bench, a dog barking from somewhere. "Man, what am I doing?" He asked no one in particular before laying at the bench.

The barking got louder followed by the sound of kids. Tanaka looked from the corner of his eyes, spotting some brats messing with...

"What's up with that dog?" He blinked. The dog looked like some kind of cross between Frankenstein and a voodoo doll. Tanaka got up, walked out of the park and went towards them. "Hey, what are you doing? You kids leave him alone!" He scolded.

The kid glared at him. "Aw. Asshole! Come on, let's go." He ran off with his companions.

An unfamiliar, deep and cool voice spoke, in a different language.

"Beck! Come here!"

Tanaka looked to the side, seeing a boy probably a little older than him walking towards them. He had long hair and a red shirt on.

In Tanaka's eyes, he looked pretty cool.

"I told you, you shouldn't go out alone." The boy complained in English. Tanaka was now glad he usually kept up with his class and had good marks in English. The guy was probably a foreigner. "Dumb dog, making me worry."

The dog, Beck, ran towards the taller boy, barking happily.

"So... I guess that's your dog?" Tanaka hoped he spoke English clear enough for him.

The guy chuckled. To Tanaka, it sounded really nice. "Yeah, he's an ugly mutt isn't he?"

"No, no... He's cute... I guess... In his own way..." Tanaka tried to assure. Then, he realize something. He spoke Japanese and actually did look like one.

The man stood up, giving up on petting the overly active dog and spoke to Tanaka. "Beck says thanks for saving him." He smiled.

The dog ran towards him.

"Oh, sure." Tanaka smiled back, crouching down with an outstretch hand. "Good boy, that's a nice doggy... Ah!" He cried out as the dog pounced at him and went to lick his face freely until he was all slobbery. "Ah, hey! Wait wait, cut it out!"

The guy looked amused, crossing his arms. "How about that, Beck doesn't normally take to strangers so fast. You gotta be something special, kid." He walked towards them, pulling Beck off Tanaka. "Here, use these." The guy offered him a pack of Onochin Loans (tissue wipes).

Tanaka hoped he wasn't blushing. It wasn't hot enough to blame the heat, either. "Okay, th-thanks." He managed as he took it.

"See you 'round." The guy smiled, waving off with two fingers before walking away from him. The dog barked one more time before following.

Tanaka looked at the pack, thinking that at least one good thing happened to him today. Sure, tissue wasn't much but it did come from a handsome guy, so he'll take it.

"I'll give this back to you next time, okay?" Tanaka called out, waving the pack.

The only response he got back was seeing the guy raise an arm and waved it off casually, not even turning back.

~o~

"You're joking, right?"

"Nah. First I get beat up then I got slobbered." Tanaka sighed, leaning against the window. He carefully didn't mention anything about the guy he met. "Some day, huh?"

"Definitely."

Tanaka nodded. "You probably can't get rabies from just being licked though, right?" He mused.

Takeba didn't respond, just inching away from him.

"Hey Tanaka," Their class representative suddenly called out. Tanaka looked towards him and nearly choked as he saw who stood just beside him. "Visitor." He said.

"Oh! It's Ishiguro-sempai!"

"Oooh, someone pinch me!"

"No way, what does Ishiguro-sempai want with Tanaka?"

"I'm so jealous, even if Tanaka is a guy."

Tanaka swallowed, making his way out the classroom. He closed the door, relieved that it diminished the sounds somewhat.

"Sorry... About that." Tanaka managed out.

Izuki shook his head, smiling. "Yeah, so listen, Little Yuki... You free Saturday night? Thought we could catch up." He said.

Tanaka jumped, not sure if he's more surprise by the invitation or the nickname he hasn't heard in a while. Then suddenly, Izuki moved in closer, and Tanaka had to move back a bit, blushing.

Izuki noticed the bruises. "Hey Little Yuki, were you in a fight?" He asked in concern. "what happened to you?"

"Nothing, r-really." Tanaka managed, but unable to look at Izuki in the eyes. "I'm fine now."

Izuki backed off a bit, smiling kindly. "Listen... Koyuki."

Back when we were a kids, there was another boy in class who had the same name as me: Yukio Tanaka. So Izuki-nii gave me the nickname Koyuki (Ko - Little) for Little Yuki. He's called me that ever since. Koyuki smiled at the memory. Just like I've called him Izuki-nii.

"I'm going bowling at Saturday with a few friends," Izuki continued. "You want to come out with us?"

Koyuki blinked. "Oh, uh. Sure." He nodded.

"Oh good," Izuki grinned. "Now we have enough people. With exams coming up soon, just about everyone I know is snuck at home studying. Plus, I have a free coupon. It would suck to just let it go to waste." He patted his shoulder. Koyuki looked up at him. "So thanks. It'll be fun, too."

Koyuki smiled, nodding.

Then, the bell rang. "Whoops. I'm so gonna be late for P.E., I'll see you Saturday." Izuki went off, waving bye.

But Koyuki knew this time, he'd be able to see him again.

Beck Mongolian Slash Squad

"My, you're in a good mood."

"Yeah, well..."

"Just don't stay out too late."

"I won't."

"Especially making out with Ishiguro-kun, no matter how hot he is."

"Mom! I definitely won't!"

"Heehee, just teasing. You take care now."

~o~

Crash!

"Yeah!" Izuki cheered, raising a fist to the air. "There's a strike!"

A classmate clapped his hand. "Nice one, Izuki-kun!" He said.

Izuki smiled in response, before looking at the corner of his eyes to see Koyuki take his turn. And he didn't really do a good job. Izuki's smile faltered and his friends didn't seem happy too.

"Jeez, we'll never win at this rate. Come on Izuki-kun, can't we switch teams?"

Koyuki went back dejectedly, till someone was offering him a drink.

"Koyuki," It was Izuki. Koyuki managed a smile. "why don't you try lining up your shots with the arrows?" Izuki suggested with a smile of his own.

"Okay." Koyuki said and tried again. This time, he got a strike. "Hah! Yes!" He went back to Izuki.

Izuki smiled. "You owe it all to your great sensei."

"No way," Koyuki smirked. "this is raw talent."

On his next turn, he got another strike. Izuki was impressed. Then again, Koyuki always had been a fast learner.

And at that moment, Koyuki thought. two years we hadn't seen each other, vanished completely.

~o~

"Man, I'm hungry."

"Yeah, let's go grab a burger."

"Or a donut."

Koyuki spoke up. "I was thinking maybe Stir fry." He said.

"What?!"

Izuki remained neutral. "Yeah, I'm not sure what I want yet." He admitted.

"That's okay," Koyuki looked down. "I can go by myself."

Izuki was about to respond to that, but then, he spotted someone. "Hey, it's Kiyoshi." He said. "Kiyo-kun!"

"Yo Izuki-kun, man, what's up?" Kiyo walked up to them. "So, what's the scene, dude?"

"Just deciding what to eat." Izuki said. "Burgers or Stir-fry?"

"French fries!"

Kiyo shook his head. "Not really hungry, so how 'bout we do something else?" He said before suddenly laughing.

"Kiyo-kun, you smell like booze." Izuki commented.

~o~

Koyuki frowned but tried to hide it. He had a bad feeling about this. He's never even been in a bar before, and he never planned to go into one tonight or in any other night in the nearest future. He just settled on watching Izuki enjoy himself in playing some PacMan. When he won the game, Izuki looked towards Koyuki, grinning and offering a peace sign.

Koyuki smiled, awkwardly offering one back.

Until Kiyo suddenly dumped himself practically on top of him and he had to move to make room. "Koyuki-kun," he drawled, a little drunk. "drinkin'?"

"Er, sure," Koyuki held up his glass. "I'm, uh, already on my second glass of Oolong tea."

Kiyo smiled lazily. "You wanna do some karaoke?" He grinned.

"No, I'll pass." Koyuki denied. "not really into that sort of thing. Sorry." He flushed when Kiyo got a little too close for comfort and nuzzle his shoulder.

If the guy smelled like beer before, now he smelled like vodka. "Coooome on, dude. You know you wanna. Izuki-kun was going on about your voice." Kiyo insisted.

They were interrupted when a middle aged lady settled down a plate of fries. "Hey, here you go, on the house." She said with a wink.

"Hey Mit-tan, what, did you get a chef's license?" Kiyo said teasingly.

The lady smirked. "Sure did." She laughed before leaving.

"So that's the owner, huh?" Koyuki mused. "Was that her real name?"

Kiyo smirked, shrugging. "Maybe."

"Well, I want to thank her for the fries," Koyuki said. "But I'm not sure she'll like a kid like me calling her by nickna-"

Suddenly, the owner came back. "Hey, hey. I'll be more offended if you don't, honey." She grinned, laughing as Kiyo hiccoughed.

"Cool, thanks for the food, Mit-tan-san." Koyuki said.

Mit-tan smiled kindly at the kid. "Hey listen, we have a lot of regulars. But I couldn't tell you what half of them do," she said. "I don't know if they give me their real name or a nickname, and I don't ask. At Remedy, we don't give a damn who you are. So long as you pay, honey." She winked.

Suddenly, they heard crying. An annoying kind.

"Huh?"

"Hu, hu. So, like what, does this mean you're breaking up with me?"

Koyuki looked over, seeing the back of a blond girl's head and a familiar boy... His eyes widened.

"Look, I told you." The long haired boy spoke tonelessly. "I don't have the time." He looked away from him dismissively. "We're over."

The girl kept sobbing. "Re-us-kay, you bastard."

"Oh, that guy, Minami Ryusuke." Kiyo mused. "Kinda a jerk for sixteen. You know him?"

"Not really." Koyuki said reluctantly. He wished he did, that's for sure.

Mit-tan sighed. "Yeah well, he's a total pig. Making the girls cry, not paying money he owes." She said.

"Seriously?"

Koyuki didn't really want to believe that.

Mit-tan nodded. "Yeah, but even so..." She continued thoughtfully. "There's something about that kid. Got some kind of strange attraction working for him. Whatever it is."

Koyuki didn't have trouble believing that now.

"Still, he's also kind of a liar." Kiyo spoke up.

A patron hollered, "Mit-tan, sake!"

Mit-tan smirked, shaking her head before heading off.

"He is?"

"You ever heard of a band called The Dying Breed?" Kiyo asked.

Koyuki shook his head .

"Oh well take my word for it, there's this totally popular rock band in America called The Dying Breed!"

Suddenly, Izuki came up to them. "Yeah, what about Dying Breed?" He smiled. "I love that band."

Koyuki blushed at the close proximity.

"I heard he used to be in a band with Eddie before Eddie started playing Guitar in Dying Breed." Kiyo told him.

Izuki looked confused. "Who are you talking about?" He asked.

Kiyo cocked his head towards Ryusuke's general direction. Koyuki pointed to the direction himself.

"You son of a bitch..."

"Come on," Ryusuke deadpanned. "I know you've got other guys beside me, right?"

The girl slapped him. The three of them flinched in shock. The girl stood up, "Fine! What's more important? Me or that shitty band?!" She demanded.

"The band." Ryusuke replied, like he didn't even need to think about it.

The girl cried harder and stormed out of there.

Koyuki actually felt more bad for Ryusuke getting slap than the girl. Just before they left, he reached into his pocket, pulling out a pack of Onochin Loans. Mit-tan passed by and he held it out for her. "Mit-tan-san, could you give these to that guy for me?" He asked.

"Sure, honey."

~o~

"Wow. It was something like a soap opera back there." Izuki mused.

Koyuki nodded. "Yeah, it was something all right." He agreed.

Suddenly, one of Izuki's classmates was calling out to them loudly.

"Hey, hey guys come here, check it out!" He said, gesturing to a vandalized car. "Man, somebody really got this thing good. Oh it's gonna costs a fortune to rub all that stuff out."

Koyuki bit his lip. "Uh, yeah... Maybe you shouldn't get so close." He said nervously.

"Relax, I'm just lookin'"

"I actually agree with Koyuki, dude." Izuki spoke up. "So..."

Then, someone begun yelling, "Hey! What the fuck did you do to my car?!" He threw his beer. "You... You little fuckers speak English or what? Answer me!"

Izuki's friend jolted and started backing away from the angry, drunken American.

"I... I'm... sorry!"

Koyuki gaped, incredulous. "This is crazy!" He said. "Sempai, why are you apologizing?"

The drunken Americans started cornering the guy.

~o~

Meanwhile, Ryusuke was just about to leave Remedy himself. Mit-tan noticed and called out to him. "Hey, heading out honey?"

"Yeah."

Mit-tan went up to him, holding out Onochin Loans. "Here," she smiled. "some kid asked me to give this to you."

Ryusuke looked at it. "Yeah?" He mused, then smiled, remembering. "All right. Thanks, Mit-tan." He took it before heading out.

~o~

"Fuckin' stupid kids! I'm gonna make you pay for this right now!"

Izuki shook his head, making a placating gesture with his arms. "No, wait. It wasn't us. We didn't do this." He tried reasoning. "Please."

The man tsk-ed, not believing. Koyuki swallowed. Izuki may be the most physically capable among them and a ninth grader, but they are all still grade school students.

"Why are you still listening to this shit? Kick some ass!"

They started laughing.

"You heard the man! Seriously, shut. The. Fuck. Up!"

The man raised his fist.

"No!" Koyuki protested, getting between them and Izuki. He wasn't just going to let anyone hurt someone he cared deeply about. "You leave him alone!" He glared at the Americans boldly.

Izuki widened his eyes, not expecting that from him. "Koyuki...?"

Koyuki swallowed, but stood his ground. "You think just because you're big you can go around acting like an asshole?!" He lashed out.

They all waited for a reaction.

"... Ass... Hole?" The man stared him down. "NOBODY CALLS ME ASSHOLE, GOT THAT?!" He used both hands and picked up Koyuki roughly by the front of his shirt.

"Ah!" Koyuki yelped, grabbing those hands, struggling to get down.

"You little shit! I'm gonna kick your fuckin' ass man! Right now!" He glowered.

Izuki gasped. "Koyuki!" He stepped forward, ready to fight back if necessary. Then, a new voice speaks up.

"Knock it off!"

Koyuki managed to look and found Ryusuke just a little ways off the side.

"I saw your car two hours ago and it was already scratched." Ryusuke said, hands on his hips.

The man glared at the newcomer. Koyuki stopped struggling, concerned about how this would go, then he was suddenly unceremoniously dropped to the ground. "Who the fuck are you?!"

"You're gonna apologize to these kids."

"What the fuck?!"

Ryusuke looked at them seriously. "You heard." He prodded.

The Americans started laughing again.

Ryusuke got angry. "APOLOGIZE!" He demanded, stomping his foot. A man tried to punch him but Ryusuke simply ducked under it, backing off. "The cops are on their way!" He said as he tried to get back his footing.

"Shut the fuck up, kid!"

"Come on, let's go somewhere else." Ryusuke taunted, "Come on." He beckoned them to follow before turning his back on them.

The Americans looked amused. "Come on, he says..." They followed him.

"Are you okay?" Izuki asked, helping Koyuki up.

He didn't respond to that. "Ryusuke-kun!" Koyuki called out in concern.

Ryusuke stopped for a moment. "Nevermind me. You guys go on home." He said before continuing his walk.

They all frowned, guilty of being unable to help.

~o~

"Five noodle bowls, here you go."

"Hehe, finally some real food."

"Those French fries, it tasted like she scraped them off the dumpster. Seriously, I thought I was gonna totally puke."

Izuki stirred his bowl with chopsticks in silence and Koyuki simply stared at his own bowl, unable to stop thinking about what had happened. Ryusuke had taken the fall for them to get away. Noble of him, but it didn't sit well for Koyuki.

Finally, he couldn't swallow the guilt and got up from his seat.

Izuki instinctively grabbed Koyuki's shirt sleeve. "Don't go." He said sternly. "You haven't finished your food."

"I know," Koyuki nodded, smiling slyly. "But like I said earlier, I really am in the mood for some stir fry."

Izuki frowned up at him. "Koyuki..."

Koyuki didn't give him a chance to reason with him as he went off, running back to where they left Ryusuke.

Izuki went out, watching his back as he went. A wave of nostalgia hit him as he remembered the awkward kid that ran off home, the day their calligraphy school shut down.

Koyuki hasn't changed all that much.

~o~

"Hey, hey-hey! Just chill man, okay! It's... Cool, okay? It's cool! Just put that thing down man!" The American said nervously, a gun pointed to his head by Ryusuke. "Just put that thing down, man... Just... Please!"

"Put it down, man!"

"Take it easy okay?!"

Ryusuke glowered. "You wanna do this?! I don't know how it is where your from, but in New York I've watched friends die!" He lashed out as the Americans got more nervous. "You do NOT fuck around in my neighborhood! Get the fuck out of here!"

"NO! Man, DON'T DO IT!"

Bang!

~o~

"Ryusuke-kun!" Koyuki cried out frantically ever since he heard a gun shot. He followed where he heard the sound the loudest. "Ryusuke-kun!" He saw garbage topple off, and found Ryusuke's body... Thankfully, not a corpse. But he was pretty beaten up.

"Damn..." Ryusuke groaned, "got tossed in the trash..." He muttered in annoyance, wincing when he felt a head ache. "Fuck!"

Koyuki ran up to him, out of breath. "H-hey man, are you all right?!" He asked worriedly.

Ryusuke managed to smirk, leaning back to the garbage. "Those guys were so drunk, I didn't think they'd figure it out." He said, looking at the fake gun with a bunch of random flags attached to it by a thread. "Jeez..." He shook his head, looking up at Koyuki. "You did real good back there," he said before wincing. He closed his eyes. "You showed a lot of heart, small guy like you, going after those big gorillas. Do you spend your free time standing up for dogs and the little guy, kid?" He opened his eyes, and blinked. "What's up?"

Koyuki's eyes were tearful.

"Come on..." Ryusuke spoke gently. "I'm the one who should be crying here."

Koyuki rubbed at his eyes. "I... I'm sorry, I..." He sniffed, voice hoarse. "But lately... For a long time, actually, I felt like no one cared if I lived or not."

"Man," Ryusuke huffed, getting to his feet slowly. He ruffled his hair. "that's fuck up. Hang in there, all right?"

"Yeah, well... You..."

"Koyuki!" Izuki called out, running in. "Hey, get away from him!"

Koyuki blinked, "Izuki-nii?"

"Relax. I'm not gonna hurt him, man." Ryusuke held up his hands in surrender. "He saved my dog a couple days back, after all."

Izuki calmed down a bit at that. "Your dog, huh?"

"Yeah, Beck." Ryusuke said. "He's this old mutt Eddie and I found when we were in a band together."

"Oh, so that's a true story?"

Koyuki watched them talk and he felt forgotten again. He sighed. Well, he really wasn't all that interesting anyway, as oppose to these two cool, hot guys. They have no trouble carrying a conversation, even at first meeting.

"Seriously, The Dying Breed is my jam." Izuki said.

"Cool," Ryusuke nodded. "Then maybe you should give my band a try. We have a gig coming up soon."

Izuki nodded. "Sounds great, dude."

"I'll tell you some stories about Matt of Dying Breed. Man, is he something. If he doesn't have a drink before a show he can't get up on stage... Oh, wait." He paused, turning towards Koyuki.

Izuki made a look.

"Yo, kid." Ryusuke called out. "what's your name?"

"Huh?" Koyuki blinked. "What, me?"

Ryusuke smirked.

~o~

Koyuki drew Beck on the blackboard, smirking at how it turned out. Not bad for a quick doodle, he would say.

"Eck, that's a weird looking dog." Takeba mused. "But... At least Ishiguro-sempai didn't get hurt. Would've really sucked... You, on the other hand, I could stand to lose." She smirked.

Koyuki narrowed his eyes at her, shaking his head before leaving and heading off to the roof. He smiled to himself, thinking of what happened that Saturday.

Flashback.

Ryusuke smirked. "Yeah, you." He chuckled. "I don't think I've caught your name yet."

"Oh." I muttered, smiling a bit. So maybe I wasn't completely forgotten. "It's Tanaka Yukio, but Izuki-nii gave me Koyuki for a nickname. I like that better."

Izuki smiled fondly at me.

"Cool, so I guess I'll go with that."

Huh, he suddenly frowned.

"So, you two brothers or something?"

I chuckled, shaking my head. "or something. It's just what I call him." I said.

"All right. So anyway," Ryusuke pocketed his hands. "Why don't you stop by sometimes? I think Beck would like it." He said.

"Oh, right... How is he?"

"Still runs off from time to time, little mutt. Maybe if he gets a frequent playmate, he'd settle a bit." Ryusuke mused. "and he seems to like you enough, too."

I chuckled. "That's nice. Yeah, I can come around to play, if it's not a bother to you." I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm down with that." Ryusuke shrugged. "here, I'll give you an address. Come any time."

Flashback end.

Koyuki can't keep from smiling, humming to himself while feeling the cool breeze brush his cheeks. "What I wouldn't do to have this feeling everyday..." He sang softly to himself.

~o~

"Hey Koyuki," Izuki ran up to him as he was leaving school. "I was wondering if you wanted to stop by my place today. Mom keeps asking when I could bring you over."

Koyuki shrugged. "Sounds nice, Izuki-nii. But I made plans." He said. "I'm going over to Ryusuke's."

"Oh?" Izuki noticed the paper Koyuki held. "Ah, that guy. Okay, I'll go along with you."

"Huh? Really?"

"Sure. You can't easily trust people you just met, after all."

"Ryusuke-kun isn't a shady guy, though... Well, much."

"If you say so. Then again, you do just have a crush on the guy. So you could be bias."

Koyuki coughed, blushing. "Izuki-nii!" He frowned, looking away. "I-it's not l-like that. We're... Both guys, after all."

"Come on, Koyuki. You don't have to pretend with me." Izuki patted his back. "I won't judge."

Koyuki looked up at him, wide-eyed. "Izuki-nii..." Then, he smiled brightly. "Thank you so much!"

"Hey, it's not a big deal." Izuki chuckled. "we go way back, man. Besides, someone's gotta protect your virtue."

Koyuki blinked. "My what... Ah! Izuki-nii, jeez!" He flushed. "Stop being an oniichan... Besides, he's probably not gay... And it is just a crush..." He gave a sideway glance longingly towards Izuki.

"Heh. I'm just teasing, don't take it seriously." Izuki chuckled, but there was a little something underlying it. "Anyway, I have been meaning to talk to him about Dying Breed anyway."

"Oh, right. That."

"Uh-huh... So, Koyuki, what kind of music do you listen to these days?"

Koyuki thought about it. "Hmm. Chiemi Kuniyoshi." He shrugged.

"Chiemi Kuniyoshi?" Izuki repeated. "Oh, that idol singer?"

Koyuki nodded. "Yeap. That's the one." He said. "I think she's on the verge of breaking out in a major way."

"Hm."

Koyuki carefully didn't show his disappointment when Izuki didn't pursue the subject.

~o~

"Let's see... Is it this way?" Izuki asked tiredly, taking a look at another curb.

Koyuki followed behind him. "Maybe?"

They took more than a few wrong turns along the way, but eventually, they ended up in Ryusuke's house.

Well, if one could call it that.

A/N: If anyone is reading, please review and tell me what you think.