The Road Block

Author's Note:
Disclaimer: We do not own DRAMAtical Murder or any of the characters associated with it.

Chapter One

"Aoba, come on! Aoba, get up!" I opened my eyes to see my brother's face looming above me. "Good morning." I said as I shoved Sei off of me. "It's the first day of a new school year! Aren't you at least a little excited?" he asked as I got dressed. I stopped for a minute to think. "Sei, I'm nervous." He looked at me with a small smile and understanding in his eyes as he got up and hugged me. "Aoba, I don't care if you attracted to guys and no one else will either." He pulled away slightly and put his hands on my shoulders, looking me in the eye. "Anyway, it was a little obvious." he told me as he played with my long hair, grinning, making me roll my eyes.

"Come on. Let's go eat." Sei said as I grabbed my bag and started down the stairs. "Good morning Granny." Sei and I said at the same time. "Aoba get us all plates and chopsticks. Sei pour us all drinks." Granny commanded. "Yes Granny!" we said in unision. Breakfast was as it always was. After breakfast, we were about to leave when Tae-san stopped us. "You two take care of each other. Aoba, take your medicine if you need it. I told your teachers about it so you shouldn't have any problems." She hugged us both and then we left to go to school.

We went to school and found our lockers with ease. The school had been nice enough to give us lockers next to each other. Sei stood waiting for me but I knew I would be awhile. "You should just go ahead of me, I'm going to need a minute." I told him. "Fine Aoba, but it's too bad we only have homeroom together. We don't even have lunch together." Sei said with a sigh. "Sei, we're twins, we LIVE with each other." I reminded him. "Yeah. Yeah." Sei replied before going to class.

"Hey Aoba!" greeted my old friend Mizuki. "Hi Mizuki. How are you?" I asked, I hadn't seen Mizuki at all during the summer. Actually I hadn't seen any of my friends this summer. "I'm great! This is my last year in this hell hole. And now you are a junior. How are you and why didn't I see you at all this summer?" he asked with a smile on his face. That's just like him, always smiling. "I'm fine. I got a job this summer at the Junk Shop so I was busy." I told him.

"Surely you didn't work all summer." he teased. "I got the weekends off but I spent that time with Sei. And I figured out that...well...um... Let's just say I realized a lot of stuff this summer." I tried but failed to explain my absence this summer. "So you finally came out of the closet?" he asked knowingly. I sighed and asked, "Was it really that obvious?" He laughed. "Yeah. Sorry." Then the bell rang and we said out goodbyes. I walked into the class to see every desk except one in between Sei and my childhood friend Koujaku taken.

I thought about the email he sent saying he was coming back to the Island for his last two years of school. I noticed that they'd chosen to sit near the back on the right side of the classroom next to the windows. "Hey Koujaku, how've you been?" I asked as I settled into the desk between him and Sei. "Hey Aoba, I'm happy to be back. It's good to see you again." he said as the teacher came in. "Good morning and hello everyone. My name is Mr. Rick. Let's do attendance and then let's have each one of you tell us something about yourself." the teacher said before he started to rattle off names.

I glanced over at Koujaku then I noticed something odd. "Koujaku, why aren't you wearing your Kimono?" I asked. He was wearing blackish grey jeans, the shoes he always wears, and a red v-neck t-shirt. "Apparently it's not school appropriate." he told me, frowning as he looked down at his clothes. "But I got to keep my jewelry and hair up." Once the teacher finished, he started going down the rows of desks, having each student stand in front of the class and talk about themselves. It was actually pretty interesting. We were allowed to ask any questions we wanted to ask the studen who was up. One kid in the front asked everyone if they are gay or straight and most people laughed at this.

"Next." the teacher called. Koujaku stood in the front of the classroom with a warm smile that made a lot of the girls in the class smile, blush, and giggle. "Hey, I'm Koujaku. I used to live here with my mom when I was little but we moved off of the Island. I moved back two weeks ago. And when I finish high school, I want to open up my own hair salon." he told the class before explaining more minor details and then sitting down. I listened, trying to figure you what I should say when it was my turn. After a few minutes, it was my turn. I looked around the class room nervously.

"Hi, my name is Aoba Seragaki. I have a twin brother, Sei, who is also in this class." About half the class glanced back at Sei. "I have a dog named Ren. Sei and I were adopted and for and fortunately do not share rooms. And this summer I worked at The Junk Shop. Do you guys have any questions?" I asked. The girl who had been asking everyone if they are gay or not raised her hand. I sighed and pointed at her, letting her know she could talk. "Are you gay?" she asked. I shuffled slightly and looked at Sei. I bit my lip and answered. "Yes." I muttered before I shuffled back to my seat.

I listened to my classmates talk as I tried to hide my face in my hands. Then my brother got up there and made everyone laugh with his jokes, distracting them from me. Then that girl asked him the same question. "Sorry. No, that's just Aoba. I have a girlfriend but I fully support my brother." he answered, flashing a smile in my direction. "Hey Aoba." Koujaku whispered. I looked over at him to see he had a slight blush on his cheeks. "I just wanted you to know that I'm okay with you being...well...you know. And it won't change anything between us."

I stared at Koujaku as a smile spread across my face. "Thank you Koujaku, you really are a good friend." After that, I listened to the rest of my class but I didn't really pay attention until the last guy walked to the front of the room. Everyone was now paying full attention to the last person and waiting for him to speak. Not only was he wearing a collar shirt with a tie, his face was covered in piercings. He just stood there for a minute until the teacher took over. "So what's your name?" the teacher asked. "Noiz." was all the guy said.

"Oh, so you're the student who just moved here from Germany. So why don't you tell us a little about your life over there?" Mr. Rick encouraged, trying to get Noiz to talk. "Boring." was the only answer he got. "Does anyone have any questions?" Mr. Rick asked, still trying to get Noiz to talk. Not even that girl raised her hand to ask him THE question. Then I noticed the little cube chains and the little cubes on his hat. I took the chance and raised my hand, making him nod in my direction.

"Do you like...rabbits?" I asked him, risking a glance and seeing a slight hint of surprise on his face. It was gone before anyone else could see it though. "Yes, they are my favorite animal." he answered while staring at me. After that, people started to get brave and started asking him questions. Soon after that, the bell rang, meaning time for second period. I said good bye to Sei and Koujaku since I didn't have any classes with them for the rest of the day. Second period was uneventful but I can't say the same for third.

The teacher was an older lady who told us to get into pairs. I was standing up when a white haired guy ran into me. "Oh, s-sorry Master!" he said as he hurried to help me up. "It's fine. Wait, what did you call me?" I asked. "Master." he answered innocently. I stared at him in confusion. "I think you must have me confused with someone else. My name is Aoba." I told him and he looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Master is Master."

I sighed, looked around the room and realized everyone else had partners already. I glanced into his purplish pink eyes. "Would you like to be partners...um...what's your name?" I asked, making him smile. "Yes, I would love to pair up with you, Master. My name is Clear, Master." he told me. The teacher gave each person a piece of blank note book paper and told us to write down information on our partner. Over all, Clear was nice but weird. He talked about how he lived with his grandfather, his favorite animal was the jellyfish, and how he enjoyed singing. Clear was in musical theater and choir just for that reason.

In return, Clear loved hearing about my life. He was most interested in Ren and the fact that I was a twin though. "Master, can we be friends?" Clear asked while looking at me straight in the eyes. "Even after my life story? Sure Clear, we can be friends if you want." After I said that, he captured me in a bear hug. My last class before lunch was computer science. Again, I was the last one to get to class, so once again there was only one seat left.

It was in the corner with only two computers on the same desk, compared to every other desk that had at least five or six. I walked over to the desk and recognized the student already there. It was Noiz. This was going to be interesting."Hey, I don't know if you remember me but I'm in your homeroom. I was wondering if you mind if I sit here. All of the other seats are taken." he looked up at me, then back at the computer he was working on.

"I'll take that as a no then." I muttered as I sat down next to him. "I'm Aoba." I introduced. I was trying to be friendly but failing judging by the look on Noiz's face. "I know." he told me, not even looking up from his computer. "How did you know?" he asked quietly, but I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or himself. "Know what?" I looked at him, confused. "That I like bunnies, how did you know?" He was looking at me now as if he was to read my mind. "Your clothes have a lot of bunnies on them." he nodded and turned away.

The rest of the class went by quickly but every once in awhile, I'd glance at Noiz. One time I caught Noiz looking back at me. A few minutes before class was over and I decided to try talking to him again. I wanted to be his friend and I could tell Noiz wasn't getting along with the other students. "So, where do you go after this class?" He glanced over at me after my awkward attempt to get him to talk. "Why should I tell you?" I knew this wasn't going to be easy but why does Noiz have to question everything I say?

"Well, I'm going to lunch and I wanted to know if you wanted to eat with me." I thought he might understand now but I wasn't that lucky. "Are you hitting on me or are you after something else?" he asked bitterly. I stared at him, gaping. He was acting like a little brat! "No, I'm not! I just noticed that the other students weren't talking to you so I just didn't want you to eat along. If you don't want to eat with me, all you have to do is say so. You don't have to act like a brat about it." I snapped.

Noiz didn't say anything for a minute. He just at there with a blank look on his face. But then I noticed the look in his eyes and realized he was thinking. "Fine." was all he said as the bell rang. Noiz stood up and just stayed there. I realized he was waiting on me. "Oh, sorry." I muttered as I grabbed my bag before following Noiz to the lunch room. When we got there, we both got in line for food. There was about ten different choices of lunches you could order.

"What are these." Noiz asked with confusion showing on his face. I remembered how the homeroom teacher said Noiz moved here from Germany, so I offered to help him order his food. He looked up at the meal then back down at me, nodding. After we got our food, Noiz and I sat down at the end of one of the tables. I began to eat as he stared at his food. "What is this?" Noiz asked, pointing at one of the items on his tray.

"Octopus dumplings." I answered as I watched him pick one up with a toothpick. "Salty." he muttered after he ate it, then pointed to another food on his tray. "Noiz, would you like me to name all of the food you have?" I asked. "Yes." he muttered. After naming all of the food on his tray, I decided to ask him some questions. "So Noiz, do you and your family miss Germany at all?" I asked, making him look up from his food. "It's just me." he told me. "What?" I asked as I looked at him in confusion.

"I moved down here on my own. My parents didn't care what I did and I didn't want to be there. I already wrote and spoke Japanese, so I thought it would be the easiest place to live. Though my little brother calls me a lot and talks about how he misses me." he told me. I was frozen for a minute after he said this. "Do you miss him? I mean your little brother." I asked and he looked down at his lap for a minute before answering.

"Sometimes. He was the only one who cared about me. I think he would have followed me if our parents would have let him. In our parents' eyes, he is the perfect son while I'm just a nuisance." he explained and I put my hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. I felt him tense beneath my hand. I guess he wasn't used to being touched. "If it makes you feel any better, my twin and I are adopted." I told him, making him start to relax under my touch as he stared at me for a second.

We ate the rest of our lunch in silence but it was awkward like class had been. The rest of the day went by pretty quickly until 7th Period, the last period of the day. It was a student support class where a senior was paired with a junior so they could help us with our classes and in return, they get community service hours for college. The teacher had already paired us up before class so once everyone was there, the teacher started telling us who our partners were.

Of course as life would have it, I was the last name called out to be paired. "Aoba and Mink. Today is just about getting to know each other." the teacher said, ending it on that note, leaving me to find Mink. "Aoba." I turned to see a big guy in a black t-shirt, dark green jeans with holes, combat boots, and dreadlocks that nearly went past his shoulders. "That's me." I told him nervously. "Hello, I'm Mink. Follow me, I already got a table." he told me.

Once we got to the table, I noticed something else about Mink. He wore all kinds of jewelry. "So, tell me about yourself." I was tired of talking about myself so I though he could go first. Mink just looked at me with a blank stare. "Okay, why are you in this class?" I asked. "To get my life back." he told me. What did he mean by that? "I have a bird." he added. That makes two people that I know who have birds. Koujaku has a bird named Beni.

"What's your bird's name?" I asked. I was curious to know what kind of person Mink was and I thought this would give me some insight. "Tori." Bird? His bird's name is Bird? "I have a dog named Ren." I offered a bit of information about myself, trying to get him to open up. The rest of the class was talking about themselves or more, I talked about myself. After school was out, I waiting by my locker for Sei to meet me there.

"Hey Aoba, look who I found." I turned to see my twin with Virus and Trip, some old friends from last year. "Hello Aoba-san." they said in unision. "Hey Virus. Hey Trip. How have you two been?" I smiled at them. I hadn't seen them since last year. "We have been doing good. How about you Aoba-san?" Virus asked, he was always the more talkative one. "I'm good. A little tired though. It's been a long day." I explained with a tired smile.

"We should let you and Sei go home then. Plus Trip and I have work we must attend to." And with that, they left. I know what 'work' they were talking about though. Virus and Trip are in the most powerful gang on the Island. But Sei and I had met them before they'd joined. The minute, we stepped through the door, Ren was there to greet me. I picked Ren up and headed upstairs to my room. I sat on my bed and Ren in my lap. We sat like this for a little over an hour as I pet Ren while talking about my day.

Ren had fallen asleep so I decided to listen to my favorite band, Goatbed, and got on my laptop. I logged into a game I had been playing for awhile. The game was called Rhyme, it's one of those games where you can make your own kingdom or live in someone else's. Rhyme is one of those games where you can be a knight in shining armor or a petty thief or anything in between but one thing was for sure, you had to fight no matter what class.

It wasn't like normal fighting, it was fighting using powers. It's kind of childish but it's pretty fun. The mount I was on was pulled into a fight with a person calling themself 'Ruff Rabbit.' Their little characters were a bunch of white rabbits with punching gloves along with one rabbit with a microphone. That was another thing about this game, you didn't have to be a person. I was a human that had animalistic qualities named Sly Blue.

The fight was harder than they normally were. I almost lost but at the very end, I somehow pulled through and won. WHen the fight was over, I was back in the castle...but I wasn't along. The little rabbit with the microphone was with me. This was the first time someone after a fight followed me back to my castle. "Uh...hello. Can I help you?" I asked, thinking of a way the rabbit could have followed me back.

"Join my Rhyme team." the rabbit said in a high pitched voice. "Rhyme has teams?" That was new news to me. "Yes, join my team." it repeated. "No, sorry. I play Rhyme for fun." I told it. "Then fight me again." it said. I could tell this person wasn't going to give up. "Dinner's ready!" I heard Granny call from downstairs. "Sorry, but no. Dinner's ready here. I have to go." I logged off and headed downstairs.

Soon after we started to eat, Granny started to ask us questions about our first day of school. "Did you like your teachers? Who is in your classes? Did you meet any new people?" Sei began to talk about his day so she'd quit asking. It turns out that most of Sei and my friends were in his classes including Koujaku. Trip and Virus were his student support and even his girlfriend was in one of his classes.

"So Aoba, how about you?" Granny asked and Sei focused on me curiously. "Well in science, I made a new friend and he is also my lab partner." I told Granny. "And?" Sei questioned. I hadn't told him about my day either. "And my student support is interesting." I added. "Aoba, stop being so secretive." Granny scolded me. I sighed in defeat. "Remember Noiz in our homeroom?" I asked Sei and he nodded.

"Yeah, well he's in my computer science class and we sat I ate lunch with him and we talked. That's it. That's what happened today, okay?" I glared at the two of them after I told them. "Soo..." Sei said, grinning at me. "You like him, don't you, brother?" he said slyly. "I do not! May I be excused?!" I asked, flustered as I tried to hid the blush spreading across my face. "Yes, you may." Granny told me. I ran up the stairs as soon as I heard that.

Once safe in my room, I thought I could hear Granny scolding Sei downstairs. After I had calmed down a bit, I decided to go to sleep. I changed into my PJs and got into bed with Ren. He curled up against my side as I drifted off into a deep sleep. Once I was asleep, I started to have a dream.

I was in a bed and soon realized I wasn't wearing any clothes. Someone else moved in the bed. I turned over to look at them. Normally I would have been afraid but I felt happy with them for some reason. "Morning..." they said contently as they smiled and pulled me into a hug. They weren't wearing any clothes either so I knew that whoever I was in bed with was a guy. I smiled back and snuggled into his chest.
I wrapped my arms around him and he kissed the top of my head. "What do you want to do today?" he asked, getting out of the bed. "It's my day off so we can do whatever you want." he said as he began getting dressed in expensive looking clothes. I sighed and pulled the blanket over my head. "If you don't get out o f bed, I'm coming in after you." he said as he pulled the blanket off my head.
I frowned at him. "Fine and we should go to that amusement park that just opened." I got up and started getting dressed. "That's fine...and Aoba?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. "Hm?" I wondered. "I love you." he muttered into my neck. "I love you too, Noiz." I mumbled back.