First of all, i'm very proud to annouce my participation to this year's shogoweek! Following the prompt for day 3, here is my AU fanfiction starring our favorite killer (nanchate). I'll update new chapter every day till the 20th of october. PLease feel free to follow (_ _)

Somehow when i was typing this chapter... i fel tlike i had soooo much stuff to say, but now i just cant remmeber none of them... And i said "prouuuud"... but not that proud when i think abt my other ongoing AU PP fic TOT


That was… Feathery hair, as white as the first days of winter, as soft as a newborn's skin, blended with the blurry light filtered by the curtain of window. He was standing still and silent in the narrow corridor of the library, his whole presence just like a lingering ghost in some deserted, haunted house. If the dark haired man hadn't paid much attention, he might have missed that spectral sight, although now the man could clearly see him, he didn't know if he could have been able not to notice the white haired youth in the first place. Not in such a familiar and, strangely, nostalgic decor.

Makishima Shogo was reading. In his right hand, one of the volumes of Balzac's Comédie humaine was open. The young man was completely lost in his thoughts, amber eyes entirely focused on the old and slightly yellowed paper, not even noticing the wind blowing softly on his light clothes – clothes still too light for an April month.

"You're going to catch a cold if you keep on reading in those kinds of places." Kougami Shinya called from the other side of the hallway. Slowly – as slowly as the white haired man's finger leafing through the old Goriot's misadventures – Shogo turned to look at him, his eyes now gone wide with surprise. A warm and gracious smile had now replaced the rather placid expression.

"It's been a long time." The young man simply stated. "I didn't know you were here. It somehow reminds me of the old days."

"Yeah…" Shinya walked closer. He pointed at the book. "I thought you've already read this one."

Shogo's attention went back to Goriot. As expected, it still was a challenge to make the young man think about something else once he had a book at hand. "Yes… I was looking for something to read then I saw this one. What a coincidence, though, that you'd come here at this moment."

"A coincidence, yeah…" Kougami was searching in the long and dusty shelves for his own manuals, with Shogo still standing next to him, though attention now back on his reading. "So you're studying here, too? Which program do you follow?"

"Classics."

"Thought so."

"And you?"

"Social sciences."

"Oh."

The dark haired male had found his research books. And Shinya truly was glad his professor didn't ask for more as they were already stacking up quite annoyingly in his arms (they were maybe six or seven books, all ranging from basic economics to machinery practices from the two past centuries). With a displeased grunt, he turned his back to the other male.

"Okay, then, see you…"

"Wait." Shogo's voice startled Shinya. The latter looked back at the other male who, for the second time since the beginning of the conversation, was looking intently at him. "When are you done today? I'm free this afternoon, so…"

Truly, those words took Kougami aback, extremely. Well, they weren't that surprising, actually. It was an invitation like any other, so what should Shinya feel anxious about? However, when Shogo said that it had been a long time, he meant it. For how many years hadn't they seen each other? Four or five, maybe? And at first, he didn't think the other man would even recognize him at all. Shogo, meanwhile, barely changed. It's true his particular appearance did make it easy for anyone to remember him, but that wasn't all: even his features, demeanor, and way of talking scarcely aged through the years. It felt as though he was back in 8th grade, if truth be told.

Nonetheless, Shinya was hesitant. So much that he remained silent for one second or two before replying. "… Ah, I'm not doing anything either. You wanna hang out?"

"Sure." Shogo smiled cheerfully. He closed his book and put it back on the shelf. "Then, I'll be waiting for you here?" Before the answer came from the dark haired man, he had already left the corridor, then the library.

"Why not…" Kougami finally replied, quite sheepish, and too late for his own pride.

That boy had always been easy to spot out. Look, it's already hard not to stand out when you get transferred to a new school by the end of the first term, but if, on top of that, you have one hell of a unusual look Makishima Shogo, it's not certain you won't become the laughing stock of the other kids – moreover with the guy's odd personality.

At least, that was what the junior high Kougami Shinya, 14, believed.

So it was by the end of June. A damn hot day of June. The teacher introduced the newcomer to his new classmates: Makishima Shogo, average height for his age, but too lean underneath his dark gakuran (how impractical, really. The other kids had already their summer uniform on by that time of the year); only child from a rather wealthy family; not very talkative, didn't look dumb either. According to what the old Pop said, the guy got transferred here because his tutor had some business to do in the region. Because of the man's job, it wasn't unusual for them to travel all over the country or go abroad from time to time.

Though this time, he really wasn't lucky at all, Kougami pondered, with his cheek stuck to his desk. It looked like they were living in Tokyo not long time ago, before moving to this boring, almost country town. It wasn't a very small town, and they weren't that far away from the capital (maybe an hour away by car), but, of course, compared to Tokyo, the place was pretty empty and uninteresting. Everything they had miles around was woods, mountains and… well. It was pretty much countryside.

"Oh, shut up let's go back to work already." Shinya grunted as the girls kept on squealing frantically at the snowy hair, the boy kept on asking about how it felt like to be raised in a well-heeled family.

"I don't know…" Shogo just replied. He wasn't even looking at the other kids, just staring idly at the dusty playground behind the windows. "Isn't it the same as all of you?"

Kougami chuckled lightly (no one saw him since he was well-hidden at the back of the classroom). That guy sure had a way with words. The dark haired boy wondered how long that weirdo would last in their school. 'I'll give him till December… No, it'd surprise me if he were still here in September…'

The teacher tried to silence his students. "Now, now. Be quiet, everyone. Presentations are done, now we're going back to your homework. ("Heee?") Quiet, I said. Makishima," He pointed in Kougami's direction, "You go take that desk there, in the back."

"Aah?" Kougami's voice raised. "Pop, you're talking about this one?" He showed the desk next to his. "It's already occupied! It's Sasayama's!"

Masaoka shrugged. "Anyway, that brat will be in detention till the end of the term, so isn't that okay? We'll find a solution for that later."

"What the heck?"

"Now, kids," Kougami was being totally ignored. Masaoka just leafed in his notes while scribbling something on the blackboard. "Where did we leave last time…? Oh, that's right. Rise of the 3rd Reich… Can someone read that part again?"

Shimotsuki was already waving her hand. With a sigh, Shinya gave up and let the white haired weirdo take his friend's seat. Somehow, it was strange to see that boy moving, in general. The way he walked through the desks, the way he sat and took his books out of his bag – everything he did seemed too much aerial, as though he wasn't part of this world; as though he wasn't even meant to belong there in the very first place.

"Then… Please take care of me." Shogo politely bowed to him as he was done unpacking his stuff.

"Yeah, well. Okay." Shinya said without paying his new classmate too much attention. Mika's flat and high-pitched voice was already the only thing that was covering the cricket's chirping.

That incessant, annoying chirping all together with the unbearable heat.

Shogo was waiting for him, just as he promised, at the entrance of the college library. The weather still was a little cold and the young man was now wearing a light coat on top of his clothes, and had his neck warmly wrapped by a thick woolen scarf. Nonetheless, apart from the cold, it was a rather nice day. A soft wind was blowing on the blossoming cherry trees, and even if spring just began, some students had already started to trade their winter outfit to lighter ones. The afternoon wasn't still quite worn on, and one could see many of them still strolling lazily on the campus, chatting about their last lecture or their evening plans. It was, altogether, a nice and relaxing atmosphere.

"Yo." The white haired male waved his hand at Shinya when he caught sight of the latter behind a bunch of unknown youths.

"Hi…" Shinya jogged the last meters between them, in the same time elbowing his way through the small crowd. "Sorry, did you wait? The last course took longer than expected."

"It's okay. I just arrived too."

What an obvious lie. Kougami could tell: the faintly reddened tip of Makishima's nose, his lower lip that had started to go a pale blue… Shogo had been waiting for him for long, but the dark haired man knew he wouldn't complain.

"Stop lying." Kougami frowned then started rubbing the other man's arms with his gloved hands. "I know how much your body can't stand the cold. I can't believe you went out with only this on you… Anyway, let's go to a warmer place. You have something on your mind?"

"No."

Kougami frowned. "As I thought." He sighed and pulled at Shogo's arm. "Just follow me, then. I know a nice place, not far from here."

"Okay."

Shogo didn't rebuff the somewhat abrupt treatment and willingly followed the dark haired man outside the campus. The place Shinya was talking about indeed wasn't very far. It was a typical izakaya whose main clientele was mostly students and lecturers from their university. A convivial ambiance was lingering in the air, and this, combined with the screened-off light, the low humming of customers, and the subtle mix of warm colors; everything had been purposely studied in order to rouse love at first sight in the newcomer's heart.

Not only was the pub almost empty by that time, but was it also quite wide – yet every corner had some intimacy that was so hard to find in bars in the capital. Shinya took this opportunity to have the white haired man take seat at the head of the bar counter. They placed their order. Both hot beers.

"You know, you don't have to force yourself…" Worried, Shinya said as he saw the other male sucking down his beer mug. "Hey, have you ever drunk alcohol before?"

"Once." Shogo replied straightforwardly. "But this one tastes better. Besides," the white haired youth added with a smile, "today is a special day."

After he finished his mug, Shogo asked for a second one from the chief. And soon said mug knew the same fate as the first one, right under the eyes of a slightly uncertain Shinya.

'Well, isn't that okay?' He shrugged and grinned. "Anyway, don't overdo it. I'm not sure I can't carry you like the way I used to." He shifted on his seat so that he was now facing the back of the bar, but from time to time he would still peek at the man beside him. So far, Makishima looked alright, and every beer he drank was only making him merrier, little by little. Maybe he could hold the liquor after all, Kougami thought. Things did change, in the end. Even if Makishima wasn't the kind of person that would change overnight.

They talked for quite a long time, recalling their old days back in junior high, bringing back to memory how they fool and childish used to be. Then, advancing further more into the present, they started talking about their high school lives, and how they finally ended up in the same university.

"By the way," Kougami said between two gulps, "You live here in Tokyo now? You're still with your tutor?"

"Senguji?" Shogo's voice was drawling a little. "Nah… I'm living on my own."

"Seriously?" A sarcastic Kougami exclaimed. "You won't make me believe that! Are you telling me you can do things like cooking, shopping or even ironing on your own? Is that even legal to let you alone?"

"Well, it's not like I'm doing that all alone… but I mostly live alone. That's all." He shrugged.

Kougami couldn't help but grin at his tipsy friend. "Is that so? Since when?"

"Mmh… since my second year… in high school, maybe. I think it was since back then. I was just tired of that boring house and I decided to move to town instead of following him around – I mean, Senguji – every time some important affair would bring him to another country. That lifestyle never really suited me anyway."

"Ah."

"Back then…" Still facing the back of the bar, Kougami interrupted, "That's also what happened? You left because you had to follow him for his job?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Shinya could see one of Shogo's hands on the counter, long fingers tracing circles on the mug, while unwavering amber irises were locked on the glistening liquid before them. It took few seconds before the answer came. "Yes. There were a lot of reasons."

"Which ones?"

"I can't clearly recall each one of them."

"Try to."

The silence was back again. However, contrary to what Kougami thought, it wasn't because Shogo didn't want to give him an answer. A fortiori, even if he wanted to do so, Shogo – whose head was now tilting dangerously toward the counter and eyelids heavy as though they were weighed down by invisible weights – Shogo was already too sleepy to give him satisfaction.

"Hey, hey! Don't fall asleep here!" Shinya scolded

"I'm not..."

"Che. I did told you not to overdo it." He raised one hand to the chief while trying to hold the white haired man's shoulder with the other. "Master, the bill please! And you, don't fall asleep!"

"Mmh… I told you I'm not." Shogo replied, his hands now unconsciously clasping at the arm the dark haired man had extended to him.

TBC