Koji hadn't started the day in the best of moods and by the time their last class rolled around little had changed. If anything his irritability had grown, building steadily like a pressurized reaction, with Koichi's continuing obstinance being the pressure. It was a rare enough event the Koichi was angry, rarer still that that anger was directed at yours truly. However, when such was the case, Koji had come to expect a certain level of insensitivity from his twin. Today so much was different. Koichi wasn't just being insensitive he was being mean. The things he'd said that morning were like a poison in Koji's mind, aching more and more as time passed. Partially because, in some small, back corner of his heart, he understood Koichi's accusations hadn't been that far off the mark. Mostly, though, it was the fact that his twin believed them. It was like years of bonding and hours of encouragement had never happened. Like, as far as his brother was concerned, they weren't even on the same side. Like Koichi didn't want him anymore…

That festered inside him, souring everything from his morning kendo club camaraderie to the perfectly delicious lunch Satomi had packed for him. He might've even gone so far as to say it made the horribleness that was world history lecture preferable to the spending time with his brother that had to come after. Which was more despicable than anything else he'd ever experienced. And he had no idea how he was supposed to make it all right again. He'd tried the waiting thing, the talking thing, and the yelling thing. What else was there? How does one make people forgive you? How does one force trust and confidence back into a relationship? What, exactly, had he done that had screwed things up so badly in the first place?

He was mulling over these things, transcribing the teacher's ramblings without actually taking in a word of it, when it started again. Whatever caused Koichi to be overcome by lightheadedness affected Koji too, dampening his senses like a fog. His vision grew noticeably darker and his ears felt horribly clogged. He yawned, palming his forehead and blaming the sudden disorientation on fatigue. Annoyed, he checked the clock and then, further irritated by what he saw, diverted his attention back out the window. Outside the sun was shining, birds were chirping, and summer was rolling in in all its hot, humid glory. He couldn't decide if he wanted to go out and lay in the grass or was content to remain inside the climate-controlled classroom. What he could settle on was the fact that this train of inquiry was much more pleasant than anything he'd thought about all week.

"It's not real."

Koichi's voice caught his attention, slicing through the mist that had descended around him. Navy eyes snapped into focus, honing in on a suddenly very still form forward and to his right. The dark twin wasn't taking notes anymore… or doing anything at all, really. Koji couldn't see his face, but his back had gone taught and his head was inclined downward. As if he was staring at something on the floor. Then his entire body spasmed as if he'd tried to get up and remain seated at the same time, his breath quickening through his nose. Koji started forward, but stopped himself. They were still in class, and Koichi hadn't called out or reached for him in any way. If he wanted help, Koji reasoned, then he would ask for it. And if he didn't, then he certainly didn't want his over-protective brother making a scene. His fingers curled into fists on his desktop as he forced his weight back into the chair.

"This isn't real."

Koji's jaw tightened; something was happening, he could feel it. This wasn't right- whatever it was it wasn't right. He tried to reach out with his thoughts but was thrown back by some force. A frown creased his brow as he scooted forward in his seat in a subconscious attempt to get closer. It could've been Koichi; this certainly wouldn't have been the first time such an event had transpired. But it didn't feel like Koichi. This force was cold and unyielding, unlike anything he'd felt from his brother since… Koichi shuddered, letting out a sharp exhalation. For a moment Koji saw the something, a black gel oozing across his twin's desk and climbing up his legs. Sudden nausea rolled in his stomach, contradicting the instinctual, reactionary disbelief that was thrashing in his skull. Then Koichi stood up and the vision was gone. His own chair scraped loudly as he followed suit, leaning over his desk towards his brother. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by their teacher.

"What is it now," the man said in an irritated voice, turning slowly towards the class, eyes settling on the brothers. "Kimura? Kimura, you look a little pale. Perhaps you should go to the infirmary and rest."

Koichi just stared forward dumbly, his panting breaths heavy in Koji's ears. It made him sick to hear, to be watching his brother struggle without feeling it in the way he was so accustomed. It made the whole thing seem… not real…

"I'll take him," Koji volunteered, stepping out from behind his desk and making a move towards his twin. There was a moment of uncertainty, fingertips brushing across his consciousness and the memory of fear. He tried to grab onto it, to hold Koichi's mental presence just as he would his unsteady body. But then the cold came back, frigid and certain and definitely coming from Koichi. And it needed no help nor comfort. Without a word or a backward glance, he turned away from Koji and strode from the room, closing the sliding door behind him with a snap. Koji made a move to follow him.

"Sit down, Minamoto. Your brother is not made of glass; I'm sure he can get himself to the infirmary. Besides, after that last exam score I believe you could benefit from lecture."

He didn't sit down. If looks could kill, that teacher would've been gutted on the spot. Koji had never been much of a fan of authority anyway and now, with everything that had happened, with his (albeit kind of unproven) suspicion that his twin needed him… well, let's just say he didn't appreciate having it rubbed in his face. With a disdainful snort, Koji made a move towards the door, but the history teacher seemed equally determined to frustrate him further. Striking the chalkboard a little harder than was necessary, he made a threat Koji couldn't ignore.

"Sit. Down. Or the principal will have to hear about your continuing obstinacy. And I will see that disciplinary action is taken."

Koji ground his teeth, his muscles moving in opposite directions as he tried to disobey and recognized that, if he wanted to have a future after this crisis, he could not leave class now. His instincts were hazy at best and no matter how he spun it, there was no rational reason to follow Koichi. He was on school grounds, safe behind the gate at least until the end of class. At the moment, it was Koji who was in trouble. Could he really afford to be penalized, held up after school for some disciplinary committee? Did Koichi have the time for him to be punished?

Growling with effort, Koji lowered himself back down into the chair seat. His hard eyes drilled holes in the teachers back and his body went predator-still. A rage that had no description seethed in his chest, causing it to ache. He hadn't been this angry since… Since the last time he'd felt that kind of cold emanate from his brother. Communicated through crimson blades and shadowed eyes. Seconds ticked by, as if the entire day was conspiring against him, speeding and slowing time to extend moments of pain into an eternity. To leave him alone with his most dismal fantasies and fears, giving them forever to gnaw in his mind.

Koichi, alone in the black, his body suspended as if in a pool of water. A pike of blood red lightning strikes him through the chest. His body jerks, arching, head thrown back. Air hisses through his teeth, his eyes stretch wide open. The pike doesn't exit through his back; his body takes it in and the red pulses around him, encasing him. Consuming him…

Koji's lips parted as he took in a shaking breath, a sudden and inexplicable chill pricking the skin on the back of his neck. It wasn't a vision, so to speak. More like an impression… His mind trying to make sense of sudden knowledge. How this knowledge had come to be or why it existed was irrelevant. Koichi needed him. Now.

The chair made a deafening noise as it fell over backwards, striking the ground and causing the room to jump. Maybe the teacher said something, maybe he'd resigned himself to the disturbances. Maybe he'd turned into a giant chicken and laid an egg on his desk. Koji didn't notice or care. He was gone before anyone could so much as turn to look at him, tearing through the sliding door into the hall. His hands found the windowsill, gripping it with white knuckles as his eyes scanned the courtyard. He didn't know what, exactly, he was looking for, but his new insights told him it was there. In the alley between buildings: two figures. One on his knees and the other squatting before him. Touching him… Cursing his slippers and all Japanese customs, Koji took off again, slipping and sliding down the hall and stairs. Foregoing his shoes, he burst outside, looking around wildly. His gaze found its target. Their eyes met. Her lips moved.

"Hey," he yelled, advancing. "Get the hell away from my brother!"

Her retreat was quicker than he'd anticipated, moving with inhuman speed down the alley and around the back of one of the buildings. A part of him wanted dearly to go after her, to catch her and thereby destroy Tache's entire sick plan. But the impression had been clear and his brother needed his attention.

"Koichi," he called as he got closer, throwing himself into the dirt at the elder twin's side. "Koichi, are you alright?"

Koichi didn't respond or acknowledge his presence in any way. His hands were hanging at his sides, fingers flexed and twitching in pulses that seemed to radiate through his entire body. Blood was pooling in his ears, his eyes directed forward, staring into oblivion, pupils much too dilated to be natural. And whatever he saw… must've been horrible. Tears shown in the dark, glistening as they welled up from somewhere deep in his soul. The coldness was all around, but now, in their moment of closeness, Koji realized something that curdled his blood. It wasn't coming from Koichi. Rather, the freezing will that was dictating every move they made was passing through him. It had him caged.

He reached out to touch his brother's shoulder and the contact sends ice through both of them. Koichi's head rolled forward, neck exposed. Black roots radiate out from the spine, reaching up into his hair, around to his throat. Black gel oozes from the walls, dripping on him. It burns like acid.

Koji felt his whole body convulse as a wave of sickness passed over him. What was-? Again the pain and nausea came, filtering through every fiber in his being, and again was gone. For the first time he noticed the insidious disposable cell the girl had left before his twin. As his eyes settle on it another wave forced him to double over. Planting one hand in the dust to stabilize himself, Koji reached for the box. 'Break it,' he thought. 'Stop it.' His fingers curled around its hard form… Then his mind went blank.