Ok.. So one night, which would be tonight, as I write this intro (not the same night as I post this fic), I had just finished talking with my friend, the one and only T-Fox, and I was reading her FanFic "Black Rose" … go read it along with "Eyes of a Rockstar" shameless plug for her friend's FanFics
Anyway, I was reading BR and Ty rewrote a bit of it, so I said to myself "Self… you should go back and re-write IWS but in a different way…" So here I am.
Instead of writing it as a band fic, because I pretty much unintentionally stole that idea from Ty -sorry T-Fox ;; - I decided I'll right it as a college fic! So yea. This is IWS College Style! It's basically going to be the same story… but in a different light so that maybe, just maybe, I can capture the energy of the story I originally wanted to write.
So yea, this story is dedicated to:
T-Fox: A huge influence on my writing (I still can't believe it's been almost a year Ty-Ty… it's like woah) She likes to supply me with chocolate roses that keep me hyper and usually that means not just my imaginary characters, but hers too, have to keep me in check. Not to mention she actually gives me criticisms to make my story better….. >.> like "separate all the dialogue from the other shit"
Neo-Chan: Let's bring up the comment she left on the first chappie of IWS, just because I know how much she didn't want it to be brought up again :-P And we'll bring up the fact that she's usually never ever ever signed in, and then, magically, for the last three chappies of IWS was signed in. CONSPIRACY!
Sillie: Who disappeared for the 5 and 7 chapters… I hope you'll read this one and like it as well ;;
HIKED: One of the reviewers who's been there every chapter… only one there wasn't a review for was Chappie 7… thank you for following my story!
LadyK: She wants to kill me quite often for the torture I inflict upon these boys… but has restrained herself nicely. Thanks for reading and not killing me
Angel Reid: Has an unhealthy obsession with my Ki-chan…. But that's ok. I did for a while too. I just love him to death. She likes him, his boxers, his obsession with mooses… I'm sorry to say that she can't marry him…. Because he loves Arial. nods BUT YOU CAN STILL STALK HIM!
Also dedicated to:
Komichi; '-'ObSeSsEd YaOi'-'; lampshadesrgreat; DarkMetalAngel of Destruction; Yakari Taito; Krad; Baby-chan; Redvind; SnakeMistress; Mimi-102; evilchild666
Another note, in the story, I used the digi-destined's Japanese name, and it's written in Japanese form, Surname first, First name second.
It was pouring rain, and no sane person would be out on a night like this, and yet a figure ran down the street in the dark. His hair was a mess, even more so than his usual hairstyle, which basically was a mess. Mud and blood covered him from head to toe, and his clothing was ripped. Almost as if nothing else mattered, he continued running in no direction, just running. He tripped once, scraping his knee and falling into a mud puddle, but recovered immediately and continued running.
There was a park nearby and he ran into it, collapsing beneath the nearest tree. This time, he didn't get up. His breathe came out in pants, and he was exhausted. Taking one last look at his surroundings, he closed his muddy brown eyes and let unconsciousness claim him.
A few blocks away from the park, on the college campus nearby, a fraternity was having a party. There was heavy drinking, and quite a few minors involved. In this particular party, were five boys, housemates, who were here on scholarships and desperately didn't want to lose them because the others were being stupid.
"It's stopped raining." Noted a boy with short burgundy hair and eyes the same color. This was Motomiya Daisuke, the athlete of the group. He'd gotten into the college on a soccer scholarship, full ride. If you were looking for Dais, you'd usually find him out on the soccer field.
He'd left behind him a horrible past and a horrible life three years ago. Now that he was in college, he hardly thought of it anymore. In fact, he was pretty much the life of the party, second in his hyper-ness and energy to only one.
That one being the art scholarship owner, Tosuki Akira. Akira was one of the most artistic people you could know. If you walked into his room at their house, you'd see the walls painted with beautiful scenery, and art supplies scattered everywhere. He even looked the part, with his chin length hair which was constantly changing colors and styles -tonight's being green and braided into millions of braids-, multiple earrings, and clothes that he personalized with patches and pins.
If you didn't know Akira well, you'd think he had the best life in the world, great friends, amazing talent, he seems so happy. But upon closer encounters, you'd notice a great deal of pain in his ice blue eyes. Life had dealt Akira a rough hand, which was perhaps one of the reasons he and Dais got along so well. They had this understanding about where there personal boundaries are, and their personalities were similar to some extent.
"Hey! It's stopped raining." Akira said, practically bouncing over to Dais.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious."
Akira stuck his tongue out at Dais, the silver barbell pierced through it glittering in the light. Dais stuck his own tongue out and the war of the immature began once again.
"Oh come on you two. Can't we take you anywhere!" Asked a teen with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail and golden eyes that were very much like a cat's. This was Maetaku Rei, the brain of their group. But that wasn't a bad thing. Quite the opposite in fact. It was a good thing for the others, who didn't like to study very often. He wasn't one of the normal brains, who spent all their time studying, and was so uptight. In fact, Rei was just as crazy as Akira and Dais, and somehow, he was very laid back.
That may have something to do with him growing up in a shrine, and meditated half his life away, but that's not the point. The point is he was smart, calm, and friendly. He'd known Akira since junior high, so those two had a connection none of the other could even match.
Behind Rei stood Ishida Yamato, also known as Matt. He was the musician, getting in on his amazing skills and talented composing. He was able to play at least ten different instruments, and he could play them all well enough to be a professional. Blonde hair, blue eyes, he was the typical pretty boy all the girls swooned for. But they usually didn't bother, seeing as how he acted very detached from everyone else.
His usual cold exterior was often betrayed by his fun loving personality though. At first, he didn't get along with any of them, but as time went along, he became the unspoken leader of their rag-tag team. At times Akira may jokingly challenge Matt, Dais might start telling the others what to do, but the only one who truly disputed Matt's authority was the final resident of the house.
Kunkoto Hiroshi, the film student. Hiro was a dark haired, dark eyed, quiet and mysterious type of person. What went on in his head and his room, were unknown by his friends. To them, he was basically just another person to share rent with, not really a close friend.
"You two should learn how to behave in public." Matt said, grabbing one of Akira's braids and tugging.
"Oh, and are you the one to teach us, oh mighty sensei?" Akira asked with a smirk, swatting away Matt's hands.
"Come on you guys. Before the rain starts back up." Hiro said, rolling his eyes.
Akira and Dais hammed it up, giving dramatic goodbyes as Matt, Hiro and Rei pulled them out of the frat house, which gave them more fuel, as they begged and pleaded not to be taken away.
"Ya know, next time, I swear to God, Buddha, Allah, Davey Havok 1, whoever your god is, that I'm leaving you there." Matt said, dragging Dais by the belt loop while Rei had Akira by a handful of braids.
"Dais is my god."
"Bow to my godly-ness!"
"Great… way to go Akira. Inflate his ego even more."
"My god!" The whole group stopped as Akira bowed before Dais.
"….Akira…. Get up."
After a suggestion from Akira to cut through the park to get back home, the five of them walked along the park trail, laughing and talking. Rei was the only one perceptive enough to pick up the small sounds coming from the base of one of the trees. He swung his head to the side, searching for the area in which the noises were emanating, and in the process, smacking Akira with his ponytail.
"I swear to Dais I'm going to cut that thing off…." Akira said, grumbling and rubbing the back of his head. He noticed Rei's searching eyes and raised an eyebrow. Suddenly, the black haired boy walked off the trail and kneeled beside a tree.
"It's a boy… he doesn't look to good…" Rei said, examining the bloodied and dirty boy. Akira looked at him for a second before grabbing a hold of Dais and Matt.
"Wait you guys…. It's a kid and he's hurt."
"And what do you want us to do about it?" Hiro asked.
"He's not bleeding anymore, but if we leave him here he could die from phenomena or infections. I'm taking him home with us." Rei said, scooping the small figure up in his arms.
"Jeez, he's barely skin and bones." Akira said, and Dais also leaned forward to look at him.
He seems familiar…. Dais tried to get a better look, but in the dark and in the boy's condition, there'd be no way he could be sure. The group fell into silence as they walked a little ways on.
The loud sound of Dais's cell ringing startled them all. He answered it cheerfully, "Hello, Dais, God of Akira, how can I help you?"
Dais paled slightly as the conversation progressed, "Yea… ah.. Shit. Well what do you expect me to do about it? … Fine. I'll ask them. Ok! Jeez. I'll bring Matt with me. Yea… alright see you in a few."
Closing the cell, he tucked it into his pocket and sighed, "Apparently, the campus patrol is at the frat house. Some high school kid got beaten up, and they need to know if we saw anything. Did any of you?"
Akira and Rei shook their heads, and Hiro said nothing.
"Fine. Dais and I'll be back whenever they decide to let us go, you head home and clean him up, will ya?" Matt pulled a key clip from his back belt loop and tossed them to Akira.
"Since you three never carry your keys…. I have some old clothing in a box in the extra room, they'll probably fit him. I'm leaving you in charge Rei."
With a wave, Dais and Matt headed back in the direction they just came from.
"Well we'd better get home." The three remaining housemates continued on their way home.
As soon as they opened the door and walked in, Rei began ordering Hiro and Akira around, trying to get things organized so they could help the boy.
"Kira, go run a lukewarm bath. Lukewarm, not scalding like yours normally are. Despite what you may think, not everyone enjoys being boiled alive in the bath." 2
Akira rolled his eyes, but went to do as he was told. Contrary to popular belief, Akira knew when it was time for playing around, and when it was time for work and right now, Rei meant business.
"Roshi, go look for the clothes Matt told us about, ok? And grab a pair of Akira's boxers, he's the skinniest of all of us, so they might fit the kid."
Hiro went down the hall, first stopping in Akira's room and grabbing a pair of boxers. Akira's Scooby Doo boxers to be exact. He then continued on down to the extra room, looking for the box.
"Rei," Akira said, walking out of the bathroom, "The bath's ready, so come on."
Rei nodded, walking into the small tiled room. He pulled off the boys shoes and sock, tossing them in the sink. Without bothering to take off the boy's clothing, he lowered the small figure into the tub, much to Akira's confusion.
"He's obviously got some wounds, and a lot of the blood has dried, so it's only logical that the clothes might be stuck to wounds, and pulling the clothes off would only rip the wounds open again." Rei said, moving the boy around slightly to try and loosen the material.
Akira nodded, "Alright, well while you bathe the kid, I'll go get the bandages. Better yet, I'll get the entire first aid kit. Back in a flash."
Hiro walked in, dropping the pile of clothing on the closed toilet bowl, and leaning against the door frame. He obviously didn't want to do anything else, but asked anyway, "What next Rei?"
"Go get a trash bag, we'll need it for the clothes he's wearing. I'd rather not throw away clothing in the off chance that there's some sentimental value."
Hiro rolled his eyes, and a voice behind him spoke. "You know, we don't ask you for that much, so helping us a little bit isn't going to kill you. Get over yourself."
"Whatever." Hiro turned, glaring at the icy-eyed teen behind him. "I'll go get you your trash bag, don't get your panties in a bunch."
"No, you see you're mistaken, it's your panties that are in a bunch, a permanent wedgie, I'd say." Akira said, pushing past the film student to kneel next to the tub by Rei.
Hiro growled slightly, but walked off to get the trash bag anyway.
"You know, I really don't like him." Akira said, "He reminds me too much of Shizuro." 3
The green haired boy placed the first aid kit on the floor, reaching over and gently pulling on the material. "Ok, we should be able to get the clothes off now, right?"
Rei nodded, holding the boy up so that Akira could pull the shirt off. It was slow, since Akira had to stop a few times to dampen a spot where the material still stuck. Finally, they managed to pull his shirt off and toss it into the sink with the shoes and socks.
Rei grabbed a wash cloth, gently cleaning the kid's wounds while Akira worked on removing the jeans. Once the jeans were removed, Akira drained the tub while Rei held the dripping boy. After refilling it, they went back to work, cleaning the boy, checking for serious wounds, making sure the bleeding had stopped.
Hiro walked back in, holding the trash bag. He tossed it on the floor and leaned against the doorframe. "Here."
Akira glanced at him, not liking the way he was watching the younger boy. "Thanks Hiro. Now go do whatever the hell was more important than helping us."
Hiro scoffed, "Fine. Whatever. If you need anything, hesitate to call." He said, his lip twitching up into a snarl at Akira. In turn, Akira's gaze was steady, calm, but commanding. Hiro left the bathroom.
"Akira, don't pick a fight with Hiro. Just don't. I know you don't like him, but still."
"Yea Kira, don't." The two swung their heads around to spot the blonde standing in the doorway.
"Alright. Fine. I won't, but if he picks one with me, his ass is grass…. By the way, where's Dais?"
"He had to stay longer, bail out a couple of the other soccer players. He'll be home in a few, how's the kid?"
"Still out of it," Rei said, motioning for the other two to turn around so he could strip the boy of his boxers, and finish cleaning.
Akira tossed Rei a towel, his hand slapped over his eyes like a little kid playing Blind Man's Bluff. 4 Rei picked the kid up and placed him in the large towel, drying him off.
Rei grabbed the boxers off the stack of clothing and pulled them on the boy. "Ok, you can look now."
Akira and Matt turned around, Akira grabbing the bandages and Matt putting the clothes in the sink in the plastic bag. Akira started bandaging the boys wounds wherever Rei told him to. He had to wrap his ribs because they were bruised and would hurt like hell if they left them alone.
"Ok, well he'll be good until he can wake up and tell us what hurts." Akira said, standing. Rei nodded, pulling the t-shirt over the boy's head and lifting the small form. The three college kids walked into the living room, Rei setting down the boy on the couch, and Akira plopping down on the floor, turning on the TV and the PS2.
"Did either of you check for a wallet to figure out who the kid is?" Matt asked, looking at the boy. Akira and Rei shook their heads.
"I expect this from Akira, but Rei… jeez, use your brain. You have no problem using it to correct us when we're wrong."
Daisuke walked into the house, "Dais! My god! Do me a solid and go look in the kids jeans for a wallet."
Dais rolled his eyes, looking at the boy. All color drained from his face. "Holy shit. Taichi! No! It can't be!"
Dais uttered a string of obscenities as he rushed over and kneeled next the couch. "God no! No! Tai! C'mon Tai wake up!" He smacked the kid's face a couple of times gently, trying to rouse him. Tears were in his eyes as the boy remained unconscious. Akira grabbed Dais around the waist and pulled him away, while Matt stood in front of them, trying to focus Dais's attention.
"Dais… do you know this kid?"
"I wasn't sure before… It was dark… I couldn't tell.." Dais seemed to babble as he stared at the kid.
"Dais… who is he? Who is this kid?"
"This kid…. This kid is my brother."
1 It's an AFI thing… What can I say? I love them
2 Yea… this is a me thing. I take the hottest showers and baths ever…
3 Remember this name, it will come up again.
4 It's kinda like Marco Polo, but not in water. You run around with your eyes covered and/or closed and try to catch people.
Rei's from Beyblade, but since I decided to make him more original, he's Maetaku Rei instead of Kon Rei. Yea… in I Will Survive I forgot what his last name was, so I made up one, and I like the made up one better