Something was different as Doumeki walked back to class after lunch. He couldn't pin point what it was exactly, just something felt... off. He tried to shrug off the feeling as he grabbed supplies from his locker and walked back to class.

The hallway was filled with whispers that chittered around his ears like flies. Normally Doumeki ignored these. They never concerned him or anyone else he was interested in and they usually turned out to be baseless rumors anyway. A few steps closer to the classroom and Doumeki felt his neck prickle up in the uneasy feeling that he was being stared at. He looked around at the other students.

Weird. They were staring at him. Quite openly, too.

He caught the gaze of a random girl in the hallway. "Do I have something on my face?"

The girl looked startled behind her hand. She had been in the middle of whispering something to another girl not so discreetly behind her fingers. "D-Doumeki-kun! No, you don't have-"

"Were you in a fight with Watanuki?" The other girl demanded quite suddenly. She waited for an answer with baited breath.

Uh oh. "No." He narrowed his eyes because the girl had only used Watanuki's last name without any suffixes. They certainly weren't friends, so it should follow that she should attach a 'san' or a 'kun' after his name. It was rude not to unless they were on friendly terms.

"But he was yelling at you so loudly!" The first girl said back. "Why was he yelling at you? He wasn't giving you a hard time, was he? He's a bit weird, everyone says."

"We weren't fighting," Doumeki insisted. "Leave him alone." He snapped his gaze away from the girls after a stern look and continued on.

"Actually, Watanuki was yelling after Doumeki-kun showed him a lunch box. I saw it!" Someone else said from the other side of the hallway.

"Why would he do that?" An unknown voice asked.

"Oooh~! What if Watanuki made a lunch for Doumeki-sempai, as a confession maybe? And Doumeki-sempai refused him!"

"No!" A gasp. "Doumeki-kun has that wonderful girlfriend that makes him lunches every day. What a dumb thing to do!"

Oh god. The rumors were getting worse. Where did they come up with these stupid ideas? Had they not even listened to a word he just said? Doumeki's shoulders were tense when he entered the classroom.

Angry blue eyes were blazing and glaring at him when he entered. "I. Hate. You," Watanuki growled.

Doumeki blinked. "I didn't tell them anything."

"You didn't have to, dumb ass!"

"They have the story completely mixed up. They think I have a girlfriend, but you're not a girl."

Watanuki flailed. "That's not even the worst part, jerk! They think-!"

"Oh, they're fighting again!" Someone said from out in the hall. There had not been any other students in the classroom yet.

The color drained from Watanuki's face as others came in and heard his shouts. Doumeki stepped forward and directed Watanuki to his seat before they could be surrounded by people. Just in time, too, as the teacher had come in and barked at everyone to sit down.

The eyes of their peers did not leave them alone the rest of class.

. . . . . . . . .

Watanuki was quietly mumbling curses to himself as he angrily flipped through the pages of a history book. Sixth period World History class was being held in the library that day for a research assignment, so all of the students were busy researching and speaking softly amongst themselves.

He could still feel the stares of everyone on his back. He frowned and snarled quietly – quietly! - he might add, despite the raised eyebrow look that Doumeki was shooting his way at the noise. The idiot just had to come up to him at lunch that day and rile him up. After the rumors had started to fly the so far favorite theory the students had seemed to jump on was that he was acting like some love-struck school girl that wanted to confess to Doumeki his undying feelings of love and devotion by making him lunch.

Stupid. Just the thought of acting like that made his skin crawl. Watanuki was not some love-struck school girl, and he most certainly would not have made a spectacle of himself by trying to confess to someone like that. And to Doumeki of all people! What did they think he was, eight years old?

Doumeki watched as Watanuki fumed at the other end of the book case. He did feel bad about the whole thing, of course. He didn't want Watanuki to be ridiculed at all, but what could he do? He kind of doubted setting the record straight with everyone would actually change anything. In fact, it would probably even make it worse. There had been blood spilled before over fights for his attention at school. He would never understand girls.

The whispering around them was growing louder and Doumeki felt his patience wearing thin with everyone else. The book in his hands did nothing to distract him or pull him back to studying.

There was movement out of the corner of his eye, but there was something unnatural about it. Doumeki shifted his eyes and looked passed Watanuki at the end of the book case. Something shifted in Watanuki's shadow. Was that...?

His heart leaped into his throat and he suddenly couldn't swallow because there was a slimy-wispy tentacle like arm slithering around the case. It slid up in a slow and sluggish manner along the spines of the books on the lower shelves. It was getting closer and closer to the blue eyed student. A moment later and the bookcase began to tip. "Kimihiro!"

Watanuki looked over at him and scowled. "What?"

Another long and searching arm joined the first and looked ready to snap out at him. Doumeki dropped the book in his hand and lunged for Watanuki. Everything after that happened quite quickly. Doumeki's body rocketed into Watanuki's, which sent them flying to the ground. Doumeki felt something push at the space around him in a way he'd never felt before, but if the reaction of the arms was anything to go by his aura was clearly not a welcome presence.

As they were landing one of the arms snapped in anger and the bookcase went toppling over. The arm that had been in Watanuki's shadow extended toward him as though to grab him, but Doumeki's aura must have done something. The moment the tentacle went to wrap around Watanuki's waist it snapped back as though it had been burned and left a large, bloody gash in the shorter boy's right side. Watanuki cried out in pain but was nearly immediately muffled by Doumeki's body landing on him.

Doumeki grunted loudly in both shock and pain as the bookcase landed on his legs. The books fell everywhere and were heavy on his trapped body.

"Shizuka!" Watanuki yelled.

"... Ow," Doumeki winced.

The library exploded with the noise of students that started to surround them. People started to pull books off of them just so they could reach the bookshelf to lift it up again. Doumeki struggled to lift himself up by his arms and give the person beneath him some breathing room. Watanuki's eyes were shut tightly and his face was in a grimace of agony. Doumeki looked to where Watanuki was holding one of his hands over the wound in his side.

The blood was literally gushing onto the floor. Doumeki covered one of his hands on the wound as well, hoping to stem the flow. His muscles quivered with exertion and his legs screamed at him. His left thigh bone felt like it was broken.

He felt so helpless as the blood slipped through his fingers like running water. The carpet was growing redder and redder under them. "Kimihiro," he asked worriedly. How had a spirit come so close? Watanuki had not seen or heard a single spirit since they started being intimate. "Kimihiro, say something!" He demanded.

Blue eyes opened just slightly and looked at him, the color in the irises dark and heavy. "What happened?"

"You didn't see it?" Doumeki asked.

"... See what?"

His aching and sore muscles felt cold and there was a pit of dread in his stomach. "You didn't see it?"

Watanuki shook his head, his body trembling. "What are you talking about?"

"The spirit that knocked over the bookcase and injured you," Doumeki explained.

Watanuki's face, if possible, became even paler. "No!"

Doumeki looked to the other side of the library. There was still something sinister twisting in the shadows.

"Doumeki-kun! Watanuki! Are you both all right?" One of the students helping to remove the books asked.

"He's bleeding," Doumeki said. "Someone get the nurse."

"Aah! It's all over the floor!" Someone shrieked, finally having noticed the growing pool of red around Watanuki. Doumeki's hand was covered with blood.

"Doumeki-kun, don't touch it! What if he has a disease, you could get it too!"

"Get the nurse!" Doumeki nearly yelled.

One of the girls gasped in fright but at least someone stood up and ran down the hall toward the nurse's office.

"Shizuka," Watanuki gasped. "I'm cold."

Damn it all. Doumeki didn't care what anyone else would say. This was an unnatural wound inflicted by a spirit from the other world. Bandages were only going to do so much to help him. Doumeki leaned down and kissed the boy beneath him, long and gentle and desperate.

Someone shrieked at the sight of it. "They weren't fighting! They're dating!"

"No way! Doumeki-kun is gay? But Watanuki is so weird!"

Doumeki pulled away. A tear had started to slip down Watanuki's ghostly white cheek. Doumeki carefully wiped it away with his still clean hand. He did notice with some relief the blood flow started to diminish. "I'm sorry," he whispered in Watanuki's ear.

Another tear escaped a closed blue eye.

"Doumeki-kun, what are you doing with him?"

Watanuki shivered violently with the question. The presence suddenly over them was cold and menacing. Doumeki glared at the girl that was leaning over them, but there was a blank look in her unnaturally orange eyes that did not seemed fazed. "He'll just stain your pureness, Doumeki-kun. You should leave him before that."

Watanuki coughed. He moved a hand to his mouth and pinched his nose because the stench coming from the girl was overwhelming.

"What's wrong with her?" Doumeki asked.

The library was suddenly still and no one else was moving aside from them. "She's possessed," Watanuki gasped around his coughing.

Doumeki kept his body low over Watanuki and did his best to shield him. "Stay away from him," he looked up at the girl.

Empty orange eyes looked for Watanuki's face that they could not see. "He'll grow bored of you eventually, Watanuki. Everyone leaves you in the end."

"Don't listen to her," Doumeki pressed. "Don't listen to anything she says."

"Shizuka..."

"I love you," Doumeki affirmed.

The girl scoffed. "Love." Her face twisted in anger. "Your love will be eaten, along with the rest of you."

Doumeki looked around himself for something to use. Mostly all he could see were books and motionless people. It was strange looking at the world as if it had been paused by a remote.

There. One of his fellow archery club members was poised just a couple of feet from them, frozen in the action of lifting a book from Doumeki's right side. His bow had been dropped on the floor just inside of Doumeki's reach. He couldn't have asked for better luck if he tried.

Doumeki grunted again in pain as he shifted his body and snatched the bow up in his right hand. Slowly, painfully so, he lifted himself up to his right knee, his left leg still mostly trapped under the bookshelf. This would be a difficult shot, but he had no choice.

There was a hiss as loud as a boiler and the girl backed up a pace. Doumeki felt his vision blur and the world swam before his eyes as he pulled on his right leg for better leverage. After another tug the shelf shifted slightly further down his leg and pinned his shin instead, but at least he could sit upright. He lifted the bow in his bloody hand and pulled back the string, grateful that he knew about spirit arrows now.

"No, Shizuka! Don't! It's not her fault, don't hurt her!" Watanuki pleaded beneath him.

"I am going to protect you."

The girl hissed at him, her teeth suddenly growing fangs.

"She can't help it, she's possessed! Don't hurt her!"

Doumeki aimed and released his arrow into the shadowy mist at the corner of the library.

The slimy arms from before flew out in a frenzy and the girl screamed before she collapsed on the floor. Books flapped open and paper flew about overhead. Doumeki released another arrow and the spirit moved further back. A moment later and it was gone.

The library came back to life immediately with people shouting and yelling, arguing and pushing books out of their way. Doumeki dropped the bow and lowered himself back down to relieve the pressure on his body. It was little relief.

"What is going on here!" A loud and booming voice echoed.

"Kurogane-sensei! A bookcase fell down on Doumeki-kun and Watanuki!"

"What the hell?" The gym teacher demanded. "What are all of you idiots standing around for? Get if off of them!"

Doumeki groaned in appreciation when he felt the heavy weight lifted from his injured leg. "The nurse, where is the nurse?" He demanded.

Kurogane-sensei sat on his heels and inspected them. "How did he get injured?" He looked at the red pool of blood around them.

"I don't know," Doumeki lied.

"Can you stand, kid?"

Doumeki shook his head. "I think my leg is broken." He shook Watanuki's shoulder because it looked like the other student had fallen asleep. "Kimihiro."

Watanuki shivered again and clung to one of his arms. "C-Cold..."

Kurogane-sensei took off his jacket and bundled it up into Watanuki's side. "He's lost a lot of blood. Come on, I'll take you both to the nurse's office." He stood up and spotted the librarian. "Call this kid's parents, would ya?"