Title: Maze of Thorns.
Pairing: KyouyaXKasanoda
Rating: Potentially MA or XXX, depending on my mood.
Warnings: yeah guys, in case ya'll didn't realize it, this is Yaoi, and also Crack! Yay Crack! Anyhow, there's also mentions of underage smoking, drinking, and general delinquent behavior, along with a dash of cursing to keep it kinky.
Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Ouran. Really I don't.
Rant Space: this idea actually popped into my head listening to that song The Maze by Taylor Hicks (which is the only song I like be him, sadly. He sang Soul Man like a pro on Idol…) Followed up be Smokin' In the Boy's Room By Motley Crue, and remembering that there's a whole big labyrinth on campus at Ouran and they actually played in it during that particular arc where Kasanoda's introduced. Anyway, I thought this couple would be a good choice for this because honestly, Kyouya's more of a delinquent that Kas is… Oh, and all the chapters are song titles that I listened to while writing the chapter…
Chapter One: Let It Be- The Beatles.
Ritsu walked and glanced around at the waved from fellow students. I guess he had Tamaki to thank for that. He smiled a little and waved as he pushed the bathroom door open. Hew closed the door and nearly choked on the smoke. He coughed.
"oh good lord… this is a respected establishment…" he muttered and peeked around the little partion towards the window that had been stuck for years, hence the smoke clogging the room, and spotted a familiar figure he'd never thought he'd see. "Ootori-san?"
Kyouya's eyes swiveled around then he looked back towards the window.
"well, this is embarrassing." he commented, not sounding embarrassed in the least. Kasanoda rolled his eyes.
"whatever, I don't care what you do. If you want lung cancer I'm sure you have a good reason." he stated and pushed the stall open. He relieved himself, with a little difficulty, and sighed.
Crap.
He poked his head out and watched Kyouya just smoke, a vaguely routine looking thing. A sort of effortless tedium to it, like he did it every day and didn't even care about it anymore. Reanimated was the word that came to mind.
"Zombie-kun…" he muttered and Kyouya looked over at him with an annoyed huff.
"does it really take that long to piss?"
"ooh, language Ootori-san." Kasanoda stated and walked back around the partion, washing his hands then leaning against the wall. Kyouya continued to glare.
"what do you want?" he hissed eventually, Kasanoda shrugging a little.
"a camera." he suggested.
"for what?" Kyouya scowled and took another deep inhale off his cigarette.
"to take a picture of the one and only time I'll ever see Kyouya Ootori acting like some kind of pussy." he answered. He wasn't quite sure why, but the fact that the icy shadow king of the Host Club was sitting here acting like some kind of troubled delinquent just pissed him off. Kyouya quashed the cigarette on the windowsill then stood and tossed it in the urinal. He took a step to face Kasanoda and the yakuza heir felt something akin to dread settle into his bones as his bag slipped from his fingers.
"go on to your next class Bossa Nova-kun, I'm sure there are people waiting on you." Kyouya smiled that traditionally sweet smile but his eyes were that of a viper's, a sharp and poisonous thing threatening him from behind something that didn't look so much a smile as a snarl.
"yeah. Probably." Kasanoda chuckled weakly and leaned heavier against the wall.
"then go." Kyouya's smile dropped.
"can't." Kasanoda answered with a weak grin.
"why?" Kyouya hissed, echoing that venom in his eyes.
"paralyzed with fear." Kasanoda smirked and Kyouya glared, composing himself a bit.
"get out of my bathroom." he stated coolly, pointing at the door.
"when did it become yours?" Kasanoda muttered but he knew Kyouya managed to hear him in the echoing bathroom. Kasanoda scowled a little. These things were too damn big.
"when my father financed the building of this wing of the school." Kyouya stated matter-of-factly, eyes still venomous and sharp.
"can't a guy rest in a restroom?" Kasanoda whined almost.
"no." Kyouya declared and Kasanoda just found the whole situation so stupidly absurd, like some half-assed attempt at getting two bishonen in a shojou manga to be friends. Well, if that was the case, might as well try the concerned card.
"what's your problem today, you're darker than usual?" he stated and looked up at Kyouya who'd averted his eyes back to the window, arms crossed across a thin chest.
"my mother died." Kyouya answered and Kasanoda gaped for a second then sighed, kneading at a temple.
"that sucks." he commented and Kyouya's eyes snapped up.
"what? No, 'oh I'm sorry' or 'you'll get through this'?" Kyouya asked and Kasanoda shook his head.
"nope. We both know you don't want that." Kasanoda stated and stood normally. "guys like us don't like sympathy from others, that's why you're way over here smoking in a bathroom instead of at the club basking in apologies and cake."
Kyouya sighed and shook his head.
"I'm leaving." he declared and Kasanoda sighed.
"yeah, me too." he agreed and picked his bag up off the floor. He stalked towards the door and Kyouya stopped him.
"Kasanoda." he stated sharply and Kasanoda looked down at the harsh grip on his arm.
"yes?" he asked and the man released him.
"don't tell anyone I smoke." Kyouya ordered and Kasanoda sighed, nodding a little.
"right…" he answered and Kyouya nodded once then breezed out of the bathroom, leaving the smell of smoke on the air.
And Kasanoda went to class and forgot all about Kyouya for a few weeks.
Kyouya didn't forget so easily.
--
Kyouya tapped his pen against the table and it clicked open and closed, the girl at his table content to just sit there and watch him study. Well, that was if he was actually studying. He was, actually, looking over some papers he'd managed to have a private inverstigator dig up on Kasanoda Ritsu.
Orphaned at 9, taken in by the extended family (that made Kyouya chuckle, why don't they just say yakuza and be done with it?) and raised in a large manor with several other people in what was declared a group home for tax reasons.
Kyouya looked at the papers and scoffed.
We're nothing alike at all. He's so… intimidated and closed-minded. Distant and lonely, and he doesn't have any real siblings. All his family only wants the best for him and pushed him into this school purely because it'd give him the chance to meet some big time players.
Kyouya dropped his pen.
Kasanoda peeked into the club, looking around then spotting Haruhi and waving a little at her. She smiled and waved back at him then excused herself and stood. Kyouya shot to his feet and looked down at the startled girl.
"please excuse me, urgent club business." he stated and smiled, cupping her chin then turning and stomping over to the door.
"I appreciate it Kasanoda-kun." Haruhi smiled and took a notebook from him and he grinned and chuckled like an idiot.
Oh, another thing to add to the list, he's stupid."yeah, no problem! It wasn't too hard to track him down actually." Kasanoda answered then glanced over at Kyouya standing cross armed behind her. Kasanoda nodded a little in acknowledgement. "Zom-- eh, Ootori-kun."
"Zom?" Haruhi frowned and Kasanoda blushed.
"Zoom." Kyouya stated and Haruhi frowned.
"what?" Kasanoda asked and Kyouya sighed.
"never mind, are you requesting a time slot?" Kyouya asked and pulled his ledger from his coat. "Haruhi's free in twenty minutes."
"eh, no I was just dropping off--" Kasanoda started and Kyouya's eyes narrowed. Haruhi came to his rescue however and stepped between them.
"che, he doesn't need to know, go on, and thanks." Haruhi declared with a sharp look back at Haruhi. Kasanoda frowned.
"nah, I think I will take that time slot." he stated and Kyouya glared.
"fine." he stated and snapped his book closed, turning on a heel and stomping off.
Adding stubborn and prideful to the list.
He kept it with him in his pocket, without any identifying marks on it in case it was found, and watched with an itching sort of anxiety. Was it because Kasanoda knew his tricky little habit? His vice? Kyouya bounced a knee and sighed, glancing over at his patron watching him with concern.
"oh… I'm sorry, I've been neglecting you haven't I?" he lied through his teeth and leaned back on the small loveseat, her blushing and nodding a bit.
"it's okay, I know Kyouya-kun has a lot on his mind." she smiled up at him and he nodded morosely.
"yes, it's been a hard week." he stated with a false sense of gloom. He pulled the pet dying card once every girl, it made them think he'd opened up to them and made him a little more obtainable.
"really Kyouya-kun?" she asked with worry, setting a hand on his arm.
"yes, my cat passed away earlier this week, it was very wrenching." he answered with a soft sigh.
"oh! I'm so sorry Kyouya-kun! I'm sure you miss her very much." she said with a pat to his arm, and a small hop closer to him on the couch.
"yes." Kyouya answered and felt his eyes water.
He blinked furiously and stood.
"I'm sorry, I'll just be a moment." he declared and walked smoothly over to the back room and leaned back against the door, wiping his eyes and letting out a shuddering sigh. This was so sappy… so positively warped with sweetness.
Oh, the irony, Kyouya Ootori crying over the death of his fake cat.
Then Kyouya sighed again and stood off the door. He reached in his pocket, drew out a handkerchief and wiped at his eyes and nose before peeking in the mirror by the door (Tamaki put mirrors everywhere. There was even one on the ceiling in the broom closet.) and finding himself acceptable.
He sighed at himself and shook his head. It wasn't the stupid fake cat and he knew it, it was mother. It was just surprising that the tears came now, after the funeral, the wake, after everyone being required to sit around dinner together in absolute silence because no one had anything to say.
From what he could see, Kyouya's had been the only dry eyes in the manor, even the servants had mourned for the loss of their kind mistress and he'd passed his sister's room only to hear sobbing coming from within.
Kyouya sighed and pushed the door open, still feeling a little gloomy but then again, it helped his character, so what did he care.
--
Kasanoda stirred his tea and glanced over at Kyouya.
"Haru-chan, what do you know about Kyouya's mother?" he asked and Haruhi shrugged.
"mother? Nothing, I know a lot about his father though…" she answered with a shrug. Kasanoda winced a little at a rather high pitch screech that reminded him more of an unholy creature of hell than it probably should have.
"really?" he asked with a finger to a temple.
"yeah, apparently he's this big shot CEO guy that expects too much from his kids. Both his brothers are really powerful business guys too." Haruhi stated, thinking about it. "actually, I met him. He was really mean, he hit Kyouya-sempai for no reason other than he thought that the club was a waste of time."
"what a jerk." Kasanoda frowned.
"yeah, he's exactly the kind of person I hate!" Haruhi declared and in the background you could practically hear the other people's ears growing in their attempt to eavesdrop. Kasanoda grinned.
"What Haru-chan, you shouldn't talk about Tamaki-sempai like that." he stated with a sly glance and she opened her mouth to reply with a very tasteful 'what on earth are you talking about' when Tamaki shot across the room and grabbed Haruhi.
"You don't really think that do you Haruhi-chan?!" he asked, tears standing in clear blue eyes. Kasanoda smiled and stood, sneaking off without paying his tab. Haruhi cast him a glare that he knew he'd regret before he made it out the door.
Kasanoda thought he'd got off scott free.
He didn't.
--
Kasanoda walked with his hands in his pockets, slumping a little. This was the way he'd walked before going to Mori for his 'likability' training so it usually kept people away and gave the impression of a bad mood.
Though he really wasn't in a bad mood, he just wanted to seem unapproachable because he'd heard that Kyouya was hounding him about his unpaid bill at the club.
Kasanoda sighed. The guy really had it out for him recently, the snappish comments and unusual attention.
Honestly, he missed the days when they didn't know each other well enough to hate the other. And it was getting rather tiring to haver to dodge the upper class student everywhere he went. Honestly, it was like every time he turned around Kyouya was there ready to unleash the hounds of hell and chase him down.
Then Kasanoda turned around and there was Kyouya with two leashed and very angry looking Dobermans.
"sic'im." he stated then let the dogs free.
Kasanoda hated to admit it, but he was good at evading dogs.
He especially hated Dobermans though…
Kasanoda dove down the hallway, scrambling to run in his patent leather uniform shoes, and dived from and open window.
Unfortunately he'd been on the fifth floor and he crashed down through the branches to the ground and landed in a rather ungraceful lump of human.
He looked up at the window and was surprised to see Kyouya scaling the tree after him.
"dear god… he doesn't give in does he?!" Kasanoda grit out and drug himself to his feet only to have his ankle give out on him. He collapsed again and winced. "shit…"
"you shouldn't have jumped the window." Kyouya slid down the trunk of the tree and gracefully patted himself off. Kasanoda glared.
"you have a better way to keep from becoming dog food?" Kasanoda glared and fingered his twisted ankle. He looked back up at the tree and was surprised that was all he'd gotten.
"I fed them before I had them chase you down, they wouldn't have ate you." Kyouya stated, glaring down at him over crossed arms.
"yeah, but they woulda bit the shit out of me…" Kasanoda grumbled.
"probably." Kyouya nodded.
"Probably?!" Kasanoda yelled and tried to stand. He grit his teeth as his knee on the other leg twinged. Kyouya's glare softened.
"what is it?" he asked and Kasanoda staggered to his feet.
"nothing." he answered. Kyouya sighed and grabbed his arm, pulling him closer and supporting the boy with his hip.
"I'm taking you to the nurse." Kyouya stated and Kasanoda pushed him off.
"I said it was nothing!" he yelled and felt his ankle twinge, a fresh wave of pain overwhelming his senses.
"Fine." Kyouya stated and walked away. Kasanoda glared after him then proceeded to hobble to the nurse.
Along the way Kasanoda proceeded to speak every curse he knew in Kyouya's general direction, then in the direction of whoever trained him to be such a psycho asshole.
He pushed the ground floor nurse's office door open and groaned when Kyouya was sitting in the chair being treated for a minor cut on his hand.
"Kasanoda-kun!" Doctor Simawari bolted to his feet, gaping and looking him over, Kasanoda lifted and arm to wipe the blood off his cheek.
"yeah, I fell out a window." he answered with a weak chuckle.
"jumped." Kyouya declared.
"fell." Kasanoda glared over at him and took a seat.
"hold on and I'll go to the upper floor to get the stitching equipment and we'll check out your ankle and knee." the doctor stated and quickly scurried from the room. Kasanoda growled at Kyouya.
"why are you here? You know this was the only station I could get to." he scowled as Kyouya examined his band-aid.
"well, I was under the impression it was nothing." Kyouya glared and Kasanoda lurched from his chair.
"what the hell man?! I mean honestly, you've been nothing but an asshole to me for no god damned reason! I'm honestly getting tired of it!" he yelled then his knee buckled and he fell forwards, catching himself on the edge of the examination table, inches from Kyouya's chest. Kasanoda panted and growled softly. "what's your problem? I mean, what the hell did I ever do to you?"
"you insinuated that we were alike."
"we're nothing alike. You're a stubborn, arrogant, prideful, and distant." Kasanoda hissed and glared up at him. "your family only cares that you get better and you're selfish and intimidated by the thought that you'll never get to be a regular person. You're the loneliest person I've seen in my life. We're nothing alike at all."
Kyouya blinked at the red-head.
The list. In his pocket.
Everything. Kasanoda thought the exact same things about him that he thought about him.
Kyouya smirked, then chuckled, then laughed, pushing the red head from his face. Kasanoda stumbled but caught himself on the edge of the table then turned to see Kyouya bent over himself laughing like a fiend. He scowled.
"what?" he asked and Kyouya wiped at his eyes, reaching in a pocket. He pulled a folded piece of paper and held it towards him.
"read it." Kyouya declared. Kasanoda took it with a puzzled expression and read through it.
"what's this, a self-help list." he sighed and Kyouya smirked.
"character faults." he answered slowly.
"yeah, so?" Kasanoda sighed.
"yours." Kyouya stated and Kasanoda frowned. "as viewed by me."
"I am not lonely!!!" Kasanoda declared and Kyouya smirked.
"come by the club tomorrow." he stated and stood off the table.
"why should I?"
"I've suddenly found you and your family to be of great enough importance for me to make a personal connection with you." Kyouya answered then smirked over one shoulder. "consider it an honor."
And with that he left Kasanoda gaping and insulted. The Doctor entered the room a little while later and yelled at him for standing on what could possibly be a sprain and compacted joint.
Kasanoda groaned and sat.
"now I wish we still hated each other…"
End Chapter 1. Seems like they have a lot of sexual tension already, even without really realizing it. As you can see earlier I had a little trouble forcing them together but managed. Sort of. Anyhow, this idea is really a little half-formed so make of it what you will. The first story I ever did of them was actually much better. Just as slow yeah, but better.
Anyway, Infernum has to get some sleep! Tis bedtime at… 3:48 in the morning! Oh good lord, really? I am such a night person I might as well be Batman…