Summary: The adolescent Hatori is having difficulty concentrating on his homework. Will the arrival of Shigure and Ayame help him, or only make things worse?

Rating: Teen to be safe

Genres: Friendship, comedy, fluff

Disclaimer: Alas, I didn't invent the characters!

Word count: 1,080

Ability to Focus

I had been staring at the same mathematical equation for the past twenty minutes and my brain hadn't been able to process what the problem was asking, much less find a solution.

How was I supposed to succeed in the pre-med classes I planned on taking at a university after graduation if I was having trouble comprehending simple high-school math?

I looked around my bedroom in search of anything that might be hindering my ability to focus. The shutters on the window were slightly unfastened to let enough air so that the room would not become too warm, but not too much that it would grow chilly. The lighting was bright without being blinding. No noise was coming from anywhere in my peacefully empty home. I was comfortably seated on my bed propped up against soft pillows with an open textbook on my lap.

It was the perfect environment for working. So why couldn't I concentrate?

Suddenly, the silence was broken by the door downstairs opening and closing, a loud commotion on the steps, and finally my own bedroom door being thrown ajar with such alacrity that it banged against the wall. I didn't need to lift my gaze from my assignment to know who was standing in the doorway.

"You know, polite people pick up a telephone to send word before going to someone's house, or at least they knock before they enter."

"Hahaha! You must be joking, Harii! Why on earth would anyone do something so ridiculous? It would completely ruin the surprise of their arrival. They'd never be able to make a grand entrance!"

I glanced over at Ayame to glare at him, but he didn't appear to notice my ire. He and Shigure were standing there grinning like the fools they were with their arms affectionately draped around one another's shoulders.

"No, no, he's right, Aya. Some people actually do that," Shigure sounded as if it pained him to admit that individuals that behaved respectfully existed, "but such formalities aren't needed when people are as close as we are." The dog's casual dismissal of courtesy caused my teeth to clench.

"Be that as it may," I said in a controlled voice, knowing that denying my supposed 'closeness' with the annoying duo would be pointless, "I'm trying to study, so I'd appreciate it if you two took your childish antics elsewhere."

Almost faster than I could blink, Ayame rushed to the side of my bed, got down on his knees, and clutched one of my hands between both of his earnestly. His long platinum hair swished around his head, filling the air between us with the scent of the unusual shampoo that he liked to use. "You've missed so much of the day's fun already by staying cooped up in here by yourself. As your friends, there's no way that Gure and I can abandon you now."

"I'm sure that I haven't missed anything important," I refuted, considering that their definition of 'fun' was my idea of my exasperation.

"Ah-ah-ah." Shigure's cheerful contradiction was accompanied by an irritating wag of his finger. "It really was a sight to see. I think even you would have enjoyed watching it." He came over and reclined next to me on my mattress without asking permission. The bed was large enough for both of us to fit, however, the fact that he'd blithely disregarded decorum again made my temple throb. It also didn't help my impending headache that he was resting his head against my shoulder when there was plenty of spare space on the pillow. Idiot.

"Indeed, it was a magnificent sight! A truly fine example of competition in jealous romance!" Golden-green eyes shone with delight and I noted the signs of Ayame working himself into Absurdly Dramatic Story-Telling Mode. Dread filled the pit of my stomach.

Ayame released my hand so that he could stand up and gesture empathically. He remained close to the edge of the bed (So that he could stay near me and Shigure, no doubt.) as he spoke, but was apparently filled with too much energy to sit down with us, which was just as well since three people on the mattress would have been cramped. I knew that for certain because the three of us had slept in it together before. The only way we'd avoided jabbing each other with various elbows and knees was by having Shigure sleep at the foot at the foot of the bed, like the dog he was.

"Just hours earlier on this very day, Shigure and I were nobly returning to the Main House after spending a glorious afternoon in the company of two lovely ladies. I can't remember their names, but one of them had a rather distinctive birthmark on her shoulder, and I'm sure that I'd be able to identify her by it if I ever saw it again. Anyway, as we made our way home through the park, we happened to come across a group of handsome young gentlemen - though none were as attractive as us, naturally – and they were overwhelmed with desire when they saw me. Not that I blamed them, of course, but it did come as a bit of a shock when they all began to…"

This was a tragedy, I mourned internally as I tuned out the snake's chatter. The capability of understanding the Pythagorean Theorem would forever elude me now that I was surrounded by hormonal morons that never shut their mouths….Wait, that was it! The question pertained to how to find the hypotenuse of a triangle via the use of the Pythagorean Theorem!

I took the pencil from behind my ear and swiftly started calculating. It didn't take long for me to discover that the answer was seven. To ensure that my seemingly regained mental capacity wasn't a fluke, I perused the next equation on the page and deduced after merely seconds of thought that the solution was two point five.

Success! I was able to think in spite of the distractions, or perhaps I was able to think because of them.

It occurred to me that my pervious analysis had been incorrect. The setting I'd been in before had not been an ideal work environment. Having Ayame's ceaseless prattle as a steady background noise was better than quiet, and Shigure's warm body beside mine regulated the room's temperature better than the semi-open window.

Now that my friends were with me, I could find my ability to focus.