A/N: Well, this one got here sooner than what I'd planned it. Be thankful!! Heh, heh. I know this must be getting pretty boring for you. With 'A devil's thrill' it was easier because the plot was already there, you know what I mean? The first three or four chappies of this story were solely to set your mind into this 'universe' so just now the plot is starting to make an appearance. I understand if you're getting annoyed by it.
Apart from that, in this chappy someone is drunk. I just want to clarify that having writen the drunken speech was not meant to ridiculize the character, as it's often used to. So, if you think he's OOC, that's ok. He's drunk; we all act OOC when we're drunk, right? Not that I know about being drunk. Not even a little. O.O
Remember my question about Saki looking like 'Soka? Well, I managed to do what I'd thought from the start and go with the majority at the same time! I don't ask this things to change what I wanted to write or to please everyone, I just think it's helpful so when I write them, it'd end up looking better.
And next chapter we have a closer look into the whole Tsusoka-ness; I promise!!
Enjoy!!
A SMILE UPON MY FACE
It was the usual nightmare; nothing new. So frequent it was, that Hisoka was starting to really get bored by it. But as frequent as it might have been, it was still a nightmare. When he was asleep he didn't have the knowledge to dismiss the dream as such; bored as he was of it on his waking hours, it still haunted him at night.
He was locked inside his home's basement again. His parents had discovered his little secret- the one he'd worked so hard to hide- and decided he was no longer suited to live with the rest of them humans, since he was a monster.
~No son of mine can be such a disgusting monster! You must be the work of the devil!~
His father would yell while beating the crap out of him.
~I always knew you were weird. Thank heavens we didn't introduce you socially!~
That was his mother.
It was almost like a memory; or maybe more like a reminder of what might have been. And god, it hurt. It wasn't a fear; some irrational part of his brain playing tricks on him. That nightmare was a warning. It would become a reality if he paid no heed to it; and he knew that with a certainty that was even scarier than the dream itself.
Then he would be left alone in that dark, empty place devoid of all contact with other living creatures. If having to constantly fight others' feelings was hell, imagine having them removed completely. It would drive him mad, he could feel that.
But that night, while he was dealing with the emptiness around him, something broke the silence. It was a sound extremely ridiculous and out of place, but definitively welcomed.
*Bee-beep* *bee-beep*
The dreamscape begun to dissolve, first leaving him inside a peaceful darkness, just to awaken him a moment later.
*Bee-beep* *bee-beep*
The sound came again and, reluctant to open his eyes just yet, Hisoka tried to make sense of it. Of the noise and the fact that his pillow had somehow became hard and raspy. Oh, and his bed...no, he wasn't in his bed. He didn't remember having to sleep in a sitting position before. He did remember that he wasn't home anymore. Were the school's accommodations so bad that his bed was *this* uncomfortable?
*Bee-beep* *bee-beep*
Now, that wasn't the alarm clock. If it had been, it would have been slammed against the nearest wall by then. No, that was his own watch.
It was a memory which finally convinced him to open his eyes. He thought he could remember something about a guy named Lionel that walked into a ditch behind a door and died, or something like that. He had to remember not to read H.G.Wells before sleeping. Or better yet, not to fall asleep while reading H.G.Wells; specially if he was still in the library at the time, which was the case on this occasion.
He cursed softly and rotated his neck a few times to ease the ache of his muscles. The soft gleam behind the closed windows made him realise just for *how* long he'd been sleeping there; so he cursed again, a bit louder this time. The sun wasn't up yet, but the sky was starting to look a lighter shade of blue.
This sort of careless behaviour might have been cute for, say, Watari. On him it was unacceptable. He was *not* cute; no matter what Tsuzuki had said over and over again the day before. On him it only looked stupid.
Thankful for the lack of witnesses, he quietly left the library. If his watch was right, it was a little after four. Way too early to do anything and way too late to go back to sleep and maybe, just maybe, actually *rest* for a while.
'Well...' he thought, rubbing his neck viciously, 'It can't be helped. I should probably get a shower and then...'
Food, yes. Breakfast and coffee and maybe it wouldn't be such a bad day after all.
------------------------
"C'mon, senpai. We're almost there."
Oriya tried to steady his friend- maybe even try and hold his weight- for the nth time, only to be pushed away a bit harshly. That action caused Muraki to waver slightly, but he still maintained his balance, if somewhat barely, and amazingly kept on walking rather gracefully.
"Ishh ok, Ori-shan, 'm not dwunk!" And that was all the proof Oriya needed of the contrary.
But Muraki seemed to be managing alright on his own for now. He couldn't help but to worry; all he could do was keep himself really close to his friend in case his drunkenness finally made him stumble.
It had been really fun to try to sneak a drunk Muraki back inside the school without being noticed. If Oriya had been one to held grudges, this he'd never let it pass. But he wasn't. He'd managed to do it and now they were both safely undercover.
Of course, if Muraki kept slurring and yelling at four a.m, someone was bound to find out.
"You're being too loud, senpai." Oriya grunted.
"Y' know, Ori-shan?" Muraki asked, as if nothing had been said.
He stopped walking to look at him and it took him a second or two for the room to stop spinning.
"What is it now?"
Oriya couldn't help his annoyance. Not at Muraki himself, but at the situation. He couldn't be angry; he knew Muraki was having a hard time. But seeing his friend in such a miserable and pathetic state definitively annoyed him.
"That boy...What wash his name?"
"I don't know, who?"
"The blond, pretty boy..." Muraki looked pensively at his shoes, before shaking his head and deciding to take a seat on the floor.
Oriya rolled his eyes and tried to pull his friend back up again, taking hold of his hand. But Muraki was as good as dead weight.
"C'mon, senpai, you can tell me later. We need to get you a cup of strong coffee and maybe a shower?"
The white haired boy looked at him as if he had just insulted him.
"I don't want coffee...I want tea. Tea'sss tastier."
"I wonder why you didn't feel the same about sake..." Oriya mumbled.
"Hisoka!!" Muraki shouted triumphantly out of the blue and Oriya winced.
The younger boy held his breath and looked around waiting for signs that they'd been busted. When nothing happened, he sighed in relief and decided that in trying to lift Muraki all he'd accomplish was a strained wrist, so he sat next to him.
"What about him?" Oriya whispered, with hopes that the soft tone would rub onto his friend and at the same time trying to remember who this Hisoka was.
"Don't y' think... I think he looksss like Saki, don't y'?" he asked with the same ammount of emmotion as you would ask for the time of day.
Now Oriya thought he could remember who Hisoka was. It was that boy they'd met earlier that day; or the day before, whatever. But his friend's afirmation startled him. Hisoka didn't look like Saki, did he? He'd been unfortunate enough to meet the little shit and no,...No way, the green eyed boy didn't look at all like his friend's bastard brother. Maybe the hair, but...
"No, senpai, I don't think so."
"No?" Muraki seemed surprised by his answer. "But he 'ven hates his parents!" Again, he was being too loud and Oriya made a gesture to quiet him down. "Sorry...Do y' think he wantsss t'kill them too?"
He frowned. He didn't like where this was going. Muraki was prone to obsessing about stuff for days, weeks even, until they left him worn out and consumed and Oriya really didn't think the older boy needed *another* obsession.
"No. Most people don't have murder on their agendas. Saki was just a fucking psycho." He was surprised at the harshness of his own words, but didn't regret them. He'd never forgive that monster.
Muraki seemed surprised at his words as well; he raised an eyebrow and smiled sardonically.
"Now, now, Ori-shan. Y're bein' too hard on him. I wouldn't have minded if I'd the chance to kill dad before he did. Or why not, before he was even born. That would've been a blast!" Muraki finished with a soft chuckle.
"Senpai..." Oriya whispered and looked down.
It wasn't the first time his friend talked about something as severe as that so lightly; it actually had become a frequent occurrence; but that didn't mean he had to like it.
"I jusss think is not such a bad thing, isss all. Think 'bout it. Everything'd been better if he hadn't been born. If I'd killed dad back then. Sssometimes some people've to die sso others can live, is all 'm ssaying. Like mom's roses..."
"Senpai, stop please..."
"Or maybe I should've killed that slutty mother of his after he killed mom and dad. You think he'd liked that? Maybe I should kill her anyway; just for the fun of it."
And even though the white haired boy was talking like if his reasoning made all the sense of the world -like he didn't care one way or the other-, Oriya saw it; the raw pain underneath his mask of passiveness. He took his friend's face in his hands and looked straight into the silver eyes.
"Kazutaka, don't do this to yourself. You're not like him."
And then the mask slipped, and the silver eyes- open wide with shock and hurt- filled with tears that Oriya thought should have been there long before that moment. And he was shocked too, realising that he'd seriously underestimated his friend's pain.
It was just a split second in which Oriya had a chance to truly appreciate what Muraki was feeling. After just an instant, Muraki's eyes were shut tight, and his friend was sobbing into his chest. It no longer mattered if someone found them; he cradled the shaking body in his arms, softly rocking him and whispering soft words of comfort.
-----------------------------
Tatsumi shook his head sadly after witnessing the little exchange from the shadows. He'd just returned to his room from a night long 'chat' with principal Konoe, feeling tired and grumpy, to find his room empty. He figured Tsuzuki must have been with Watari and it was on his way to the blond's room that he heard voices coming from a nearby hall.
For a moment he thought about reporting it. Returning to school drunk so late that it was already early was *not* an appropriate behaviour. Besides, he wasn't exactly famous for his solidarity with his fellow students, Actually, everyone pretty much hated him.
And how someone so unpopular ends up being president of the student council, you say? Simple; everyone hated him- feared him even- but everyone also knew that if you wanted something done, Tatsumi was the one to go to. No one really knew why he had so much influence, and he sure wasn't about to tell them.
He wouldn't have doubted for a second before reporting them- Muraki wasn't precisely his favourite person in the world; but he just couldn't do it. He could still remember vividly how he'd felt after his mother had died. He himself had done a few stupid things and he knew Muraki wouldn't act that way if it wasn't for the circumstances. The white haired boy might have been popular for his attitude and his disrespect for authority, but he'd always had a good conduct.
Tatsumi's mind took him back to the days after his mother passed away. He'd been so utterly lost; the guilt and the pain had almost driven him, the always calmed and controlled person that he was, to the verge of insanity.
But he didn't want to remember that. Ever. So he left them there, not making his presence known, and returned to his previous task. The blue eyed boy could certainly sympathize; so he decided to cut Muraki some slack this time around and forget he'd ever seen anything,
His next thoughts were of a much lighter nature, though they still troubled him. He hoped Tsuzuki wouldn't be mad at him for leaving him on his own the entire night. He also hoped that neither Tsuzuki or Watari had spent the night eating sweets without sleeping. Which drove him to his next dilemma.
Had they slept at all, where had they done it? He surely couldn't imagine Hisoka offering to share his bed with Tsuzuki. The dorm rooms' beds were somewhat narrow- he knew this out of experience- and to share the bed you had to practically sleep pressed to the other person. Either that or snuggle; Tatsumi really couldn't imagine Hisoka snuggling with Tsuzuki.
That left him with the option of Hisoka snuggling with Watari. Now, that was a thought he didn't want to consider but, given the other option- which his brain seemed to purposely ignore for some reason- it seemed like the only plausible possibility. He could already feel his blood boiling.
Hisoka had become a threat in just one day, Tatsumi realised. He really liked the green eyed boy, he was his sort of person; responsible, centred.... But he had disrupted the perfect balance that was their relationship. He knew Watari wouldn't go out without anyone outside their little circle so, as long as they were three- Muraki and Oriya had never managed to be a part of it, without not really being outsiders- he could be with Tsuzuki and know that Watari would always be available should their situation change.
It was a cowardly thing to do, he knew it, but he couldn't conceive being the one to break things off with Tsuzuki. He *did* love him, after all; choosing between the two was unacceptable and Tsuzuki had been there first. But now they were four. Hisoka was a good looking kid and Watari really seemed to like him. Now he had to decide if his love for Tsuzuki was strong enough to let Watari go. Now he had to choose, and he did *not* like it.
He'd been too distracted with his thoughts, for what he was surprised when he found himself already in front of Watari's door. Knocking was not an option, of course. One of the three *had* to be sleeping; at the least! So he pulled the knob tentatively, putting a great amount of effort to open the door as quietly as he could.
The first thing Tatsumi noticed was that the door didn't open completely. Somehow he managed to sneak in and found that it was actually a very dishevel, shocked Hisoka who had been blocking the door.
Just then the boy seemed to realise there was someone new in the dim lit room. He turned his head slightly to look at him, eyes wide and Tatsumi noticed how his young friend's face turned from death pale to beet red in a split second. Hisoka turned his gaze again to the point where he'd had been focusing it earlier and opened his mouth as if to say something. Whatever it was though, it never left his lips.
Worried, Tatsumi followed Hisoka's gaze. But he was not ready for what he saw.
His brain, as mentioned, had omitted the third option. Call it repression; call it lack of imagination. Truth was, it would have been too much for him to bare. Ok, make that, *it was* too much for him to bare.
Before he had time to help it, Tatsumi was wearing an expression as dumbstruck as Hisoka's. For some reason, the words 'fan service' had stuck in his brain as he started walking, slowly and robotically, towards the bed on the right. Hisoka seemed to take courage in his action, because he followed him.
They ended up each on either side of the bed, staring down in awe at the piles and piles of empty candy wrapping and the two boys guilty of the mess. Both avoiding to look at each other to hide the fact that they were both blushing furiously.
Tsuzuki was sleeping with a contented smile on his face; resting on his back, turned slightly to his left side...with his arms wrapped tightly around Watari's waist and his face buried on the blond hair that fell messily all around the two of them. As for Watari, he was snuggled up to Tsuzuki, his head tucked in the crook of the older boy's neck and under his chin, with his arms around Tsuzuki as well.
Hisoka looked from a half dressed Tsuzuki and Watari to a very red Tatsumi a couple of times.
Imagine his shock when he'd returned to his room to such a scene! If he'd been half asleep before that, now he sure as hell was awake!
Tatsumi seemed about to explode. Hisoka thought he could almost see the steam coming out from his ears and nose, but he was *very* aware that it wasn't anger or jealousy what had left his new friend in such a state. In fact, for the first time since he'd met him, Tatsumi's feelings were so strong Hisoka had a hard time telling if the heat he felt growing from his belly to his face was truly his.
Not that he had reasons of his own to feel like that. No sir; na-ah.
He decided to say something, quickly, because if he didn't stop this soon, he feared Tatsumi might just lose it right there.
"Should...should we wake them?" his voice came out thin and shaky, but it was enough to shake the taller boy of his stupor.
Tatsumi had to open his mouth a couple of times before his brain had made sense of the words he wanted to say. It took him a little longer than usual, but under the circumstances, he thought he did pretty good.
"No...no I...think it's better if we let them...sleep." Tatsumi seemed to notice something then, and stare suspiciously at Hisoka. "Where were you?" he tried to say casually, but failed.
Hisoka had no intention of telling he'd slept in the library. He had an image to maintain, after all. And besides, Tatsumi didn't exactly look like he'd gotten much sleep either. Here he was, dressed with yesterday's clothes- if the wrinkles were any indication- with bags under his eyes and his hair mused. And lets not forget, his boyfriend had spent the night in a candy orgy with another boy and just now he realised.
"Where were *you*?" was Hisoka's only reply.
Tatsumi was unpleasantly surprised to find someone as perceptive as himself. It was no fun, really. But it did make him respect Hisoka a bit more.
"Fair enough." he answered coldly, but kindly, and the inquiry was dropped.
During that little distraction, they didn't notice one sleepy amber eye opening slightly; unfocused and foggy. Now they could see it, from under a mess of golden locks, staring at them confusedly.
"Waaaaaaaah!!!!!" Watari wailed suddenly, making them both jump. He leaped from the bed with surprising speed and height, landing on his back and revealing a green, little parakeet that god knows where had been sleeping. The bird added to the effect, squeaking and flapping her wings in distress. "Tatsumi-kun, Hisoka-kun! It's...It's not what it looks like!!"
----------------------------
The small cabin was filled with the blue-ish, smelly smoke curling upwards as if dancing towards the ceiling, to form a fetid, homogeneous cloud. Not that he cared; after staring for countless hours into the grey, immobile images on the monitors, everything in his world was grey. Smell, as hideous as it might have been, was better than the cold, sense numbing screen.
Besides, let's not forget the source of said smoke; he could get lung cancer for all he cared, he wouldn't give up the perfect moments provided by his favourite cigarette brand for a long life time without them.
'Next year...' he promised himself. Just one more year and he'd quit that pathetic, alienating job and try for the police academy. He was still young enough; there was no reason for him not to try to fulfil his life long dream. He didn't care that all the rich brats in that stuck up school would think his dream was laughable. Most of those kids didn't even have to dream; they could snap their fingers and daddy would get whatever they wanted for them.
In spite of being spring, the air was unusually chilly, and the small security cabin didn't provide enough of a cover for Terazuma Hajime to feel comfortable. He wondered why he'd ever agreed to take the night shift, when a memory of having to control an obscene amount of brats during recess immediately gave him the answer. At least the annoying little pricks were asleep; even if he was freezing his bones.
The smoke that was supposed to warm his lungs just wasn't cutting it. Had it been just a few hours earlier, he'd called Wakaba and asked her to bring a coat and grace him with her company. But he couldn't call her at four thirty in the morning.
There was a soft sound, that in the silence of the night seemed ten times louder, and succeeded in startling Terazuma a little. It was like the creak of old wood but, aside from the trees at the side of the main road, there wasn't any wooden structures around.
The sound came again and Terazuma decided that it was probably one of the kids either trying to sneak out, or in, and he'd give them a proper scare. Out of routine, he checked every monitor as he picked up his flashlight and keys.
One of the monitors caught his attention, though. It was a shot of one of the dorm's halls; it was as if a cloud...a wave of a dark, black smoke- curling and dancing very much as the one coming from his dying cigarette- was flowing through the hall's floor. As if it had a life of it's own.
He was still trying to process what he was seeing when the darkness of the hall grew and engulfed the whole picture just a second before the signal for that camera was lost. He dismissed the incident as an electronic failure. He wouldn't admit, even to himself, that he was starting to feel a tad freaked out. The creak was heard again, this time followed by a small, acute whimper.
Jumping into motion, he stepped out of his cabin and into the darkened park. His breath caught in his throat. He heard the whimper louder- closer- this time. The macabre shadows of the park seemed to have a life of their own, moving at an abnormal rhythm and pace that had nothing to do with the lights coming from the city.
Not knowing whether he should go get help or simply run the hell away from that place, he just stood there for a moment; his flashlight focussed into nothingness. He turned around, eyes wide with shock, when he realised the creaking sound was now right behind him. He didn't have time to see what it was though, as a sharp pain travelled from his head to his toes before passing out.
~Tsuzuku~
General gasp: AAAAAAAH!!! Terazuma-chan!!!!! Konnie-chan, what have you done!!??
*Konnie-chan ducks and hides from angry Terazuma fans*
He'll be ok, don't worry... maybe...perhaps...
I thought I'd thank the reviews for my other fic, 'Parallels'...I just feel like doing that, okies? It *was* Mur/ori, Tatari. Let's see if I can explain this,...uhm...Tari chan was the uke talking and Muraki the seme? Yes, something like that. I just think that Tatsumi and Muraki have a lot in common (sans the part of Muraki being a psycho) So I though of this. It was weird, I know. -
Katsue, Dyingstar-elipsis, Yami no Tenshi (angel of darkness, right?), not so innocent bystander, Kara angitia, Kyraille Fade *-*, Lothorien1 (yay, LOTR rules!) and xXLil Yu JahXx; thanks a lot for your reviews and sorry for the headache!!!
Now the answer to the reviews for this fic!!! @.@
Lina: No, I'm not from Spain, but since you mention you're not native from Britain, I can say where I'm from freely *.* I'm from Argentina; you know, South America? The country at the bottom, bottom of the world? That's me.
Muraki is intriguing even for me! And I'm writing this! Hisoka is, for some reason, so fun to write. But my favourite has to be Watari; with Tsuzuki a close second. And I don't mean Watari/Tatsumi...Though Tatsumi is sooo cool. But Watari's no one's favourite *pout* Why isn't he everyone's favourite? T.T
Spoon no Miko: I'm not sure what I'll do with Tsuzuki-chan's past yet. I'll probably hint at it, but with more of a hint than the cannon. Thanks for liking this!!
Loki's rose: Ah, it's always so nice to see such a serious reviewer turn into a puddle of drool with a simple hug!! Lol. I honestly thought Kacho was his name; well, never mind that, pretend it is? And that whole reasoning about reincarnation was exactly what I thought too; though maybe, just maybe, the whole mystery around his past is part of Tsuzuki's character? I'm not sure. Everyone's answers left me more confused than before, lol. Don't be afraid for the characters' safety....be *terrified* Mwahahaha!!
Mel-chan-of-doom: *blush* Really, you like? *blush* Rodents are cool. They have these cute little teeth and those cute little noses and the ears!! Rodents are ok, never be ashamed of having a rodent characteristic!! Anyway, thanks for such a pretty review!!
xXLil Yu JahXx: Mmm....Gullible, are we? Well, you know?...I don't tell everyone this but, since you left such a nice review, I'll tell you. I'm actually a deity,...yes, a deity, and my command for you humans is...Give me all your money!!! Now! Or you'll have to face me pissed off!!! Anyway! Thanks, this was so much better!! Lol. (really, really sorry for the headache! Hontoni gomene!)
Merry Xmas (war is over, if you want it)
Ja ne!
Apart from that, in this chappy someone is drunk. I just want to clarify that having writen the drunken speech was not meant to ridiculize the character, as it's often used to. So, if you think he's OOC, that's ok. He's drunk; we all act OOC when we're drunk, right? Not that I know about being drunk. Not even a little. O.O
Remember my question about Saki looking like 'Soka? Well, I managed to do what I'd thought from the start and go with the majority at the same time! I don't ask this things to change what I wanted to write or to please everyone, I just think it's helpful so when I write them, it'd end up looking better.
And next chapter we have a closer look into the whole Tsusoka-ness; I promise!!
Enjoy!!
A SMILE UPON MY FACE
It was the usual nightmare; nothing new. So frequent it was, that Hisoka was starting to really get bored by it. But as frequent as it might have been, it was still a nightmare. When he was asleep he didn't have the knowledge to dismiss the dream as such; bored as he was of it on his waking hours, it still haunted him at night.
He was locked inside his home's basement again. His parents had discovered his little secret- the one he'd worked so hard to hide- and decided he was no longer suited to live with the rest of them humans, since he was a monster.
~No son of mine can be such a disgusting monster! You must be the work of the devil!~
His father would yell while beating the crap out of him.
~I always knew you were weird. Thank heavens we didn't introduce you socially!~
That was his mother.
It was almost like a memory; or maybe more like a reminder of what might have been. And god, it hurt. It wasn't a fear; some irrational part of his brain playing tricks on him. That nightmare was a warning. It would become a reality if he paid no heed to it; and he knew that with a certainty that was even scarier than the dream itself.
Then he would be left alone in that dark, empty place devoid of all contact with other living creatures. If having to constantly fight others' feelings was hell, imagine having them removed completely. It would drive him mad, he could feel that.
But that night, while he was dealing with the emptiness around him, something broke the silence. It was a sound extremely ridiculous and out of place, but definitively welcomed.
*Bee-beep* *bee-beep*
The dreamscape begun to dissolve, first leaving him inside a peaceful darkness, just to awaken him a moment later.
*Bee-beep* *bee-beep*
The sound came again and, reluctant to open his eyes just yet, Hisoka tried to make sense of it. Of the noise and the fact that his pillow had somehow became hard and raspy. Oh, and his bed...no, he wasn't in his bed. He didn't remember having to sleep in a sitting position before. He did remember that he wasn't home anymore. Were the school's accommodations so bad that his bed was *this* uncomfortable?
*Bee-beep* *bee-beep*
Now, that wasn't the alarm clock. If it had been, it would have been slammed against the nearest wall by then. No, that was his own watch.
It was a memory which finally convinced him to open his eyes. He thought he could remember something about a guy named Lionel that walked into a ditch behind a door and died, or something like that. He had to remember not to read H.G.Wells before sleeping. Or better yet, not to fall asleep while reading H.G.Wells; specially if he was still in the library at the time, which was the case on this occasion.
He cursed softly and rotated his neck a few times to ease the ache of his muscles. The soft gleam behind the closed windows made him realise just for *how* long he'd been sleeping there; so he cursed again, a bit louder this time. The sun wasn't up yet, but the sky was starting to look a lighter shade of blue.
This sort of careless behaviour might have been cute for, say, Watari. On him it was unacceptable. He was *not* cute; no matter what Tsuzuki had said over and over again the day before. On him it only looked stupid.
Thankful for the lack of witnesses, he quietly left the library. If his watch was right, it was a little after four. Way too early to do anything and way too late to go back to sleep and maybe, just maybe, actually *rest* for a while.
'Well...' he thought, rubbing his neck viciously, 'It can't be helped. I should probably get a shower and then...'
Food, yes. Breakfast and coffee and maybe it wouldn't be such a bad day after all.
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"C'mon, senpai. We're almost there."
Oriya tried to steady his friend- maybe even try and hold his weight- for the nth time, only to be pushed away a bit harshly. That action caused Muraki to waver slightly, but he still maintained his balance, if somewhat barely, and amazingly kept on walking rather gracefully.
"Ishh ok, Ori-shan, 'm not dwunk!" And that was all the proof Oriya needed of the contrary.
But Muraki seemed to be managing alright on his own for now. He couldn't help but to worry; all he could do was keep himself really close to his friend in case his drunkenness finally made him stumble.
It had been really fun to try to sneak a drunk Muraki back inside the school without being noticed. If Oriya had been one to held grudges, this he'd never let it pass. But he wasn't. He'd managed to do it and now they were both safely undercover.
Of course, if Muraki kept slurring and yelling at four a.m, someone was bound to find out.
"You're being too loud, senpai." Oriya grunted.
"Y' know, Ori-shan?" Muraki asked, as if nothing had been said.
He stopped walking to look at him and it took him a second or two for the room to stop spinning.
"What is it now?"
Oriya couldn't help his annoyance. Not at Muraki himself, but at the situation. He couldn't be angry; he knew Muraki was having a hard time. But seeing his friend in such a miserable and pathetic state definitively annoyed him.
"That boy...What wash his name?"
"I don't know, who?"
"The blond, pretty boy..." Muraki looked pensively at his shoes, before shaking his head and deciding to take a seat on the floor.
Oriya rolled his eyes and tried to pull his friend back up again, taking hold of his hand. But Muraki was as good as dead weight.
"C'mon, senpai, you can tell me later. We need to get you a cup of strong coffee and maybe a shower?"
The white haired boy looked at him as if he had just insulted him.
"I don't want coffee...I want tea. Tea'sss tastier."
"I wonder why you didn't feel the same about sake..." Oriya mumbled.
"Hisoka!!" Muraki shouted triumphantly out of the blue and Oriya winced.
The younger boy held his breath and looked around waiting for signs that they'd been busted. When nothing happened, he sighed in relief and decided that in trying to lift Muraki all he'd accomplish was a strained wrist, so he sat next to him.
"What about him?" Oriya whispered, with hopes that the soft tone would rub onto his friend and at the same time trying to remember who this Hisoka was.
"Don't y' think... I think he looksss like Saki, don't y'?" he asked with the same ammount of emmotion as you would ask for the time of day.
Now Oriya thought he could remember who Hisoka was. It was that boy they'd met earlier that day; or the day before, whatever. But his friend's afirmation startled him. Hisoka didn't look like Saki, did he? He'd been unfortunate enough to meet the little shit and no,...No way, the green eyed boy didn't look at all like his friend's bastard brother. Maybe the hair, but...
"No, senpai, I don't think so."
"No?" Muraki seemed surprised by his answer. "But he 'ven hates his parents!" Again, he was being too loud and Oriya made a gesture to quiet him down. "Sorry...Do y' think he wantsss t'kill them too?"
He frowned. He didn't like where this was going. Muraki was prone to obsessing about stuff for days, weeks even, until they left him worn out and consumed and Oriya really didn't think the older boy needed *another* obsession.
"No. Most people don't have murder on their agendas. Saki was just a fucking psycho." He was surprised at the harshness of his own words, but didn't regret them. He'd never forgive that monster.
Muraki seemed surprised at his words as well; he raised an eyebrow and smiled sardonically.
"Now, now, Ori-shan. Y're bein' too hard on him. I wouldn't have minded if I'd the chance to kill dad before he did. Or why not, before he was even born. That would've been a blast!" Muraki finished with a soft chuckle.
"Senpai..." Oriya whispered and looked down.
It wasn't the first time his friend talked about something as severe as that so lightly; it actually had become a frequent occurrence; but that didn't mean he had to like it.
"I jusss think is not such a bad thing, isss all. Think 'bout it. Everything'd been better if he hadn't been born. If I'd killed dad back then. Sssometimes some people've to die sso others can live, is all 'm ssaying. Like mom's roses..."
"Senpai, stop please..."
"Or maybe I should've killed that slutty mother of his after he killed mom and dad. You think he'd liked that? Maybe I should kill her anyway; just for the fun of it."
And even though the white haired boy was talking like if his reasoning made all the sense of the world -like he didn't care one way or the other-, Oriya saw it; the raw pain underneath his mask of passiveness. He took his friend's face in his hands and looked straight into the silver eyes.
"Kazutaka, don't do this to yourself. You're not like him."
And then the mask slipped, and the silver eyes- open wide with shock and hurt- filled with tears that Oriya thought should have been there long before that moment. And he was shocked too, realising that he'd seriously underestimated his friend's pain.
It was just a split second in which Oriya had a chance to truly appreciate what Muraki was feeling. After just an instant, Muraki's eyes were shut tight, and his friend was sobbing into his chest. It no longer mattered if someone found them; he cradled the shaking body in his arms, softly rocking him and whispering soft words of comfort.
-----------------------------
Tatsumi shook his head sadly after witnessing the little exchange from the shadows. He'd just returned to his room from a night long 'chat' with principal Konoe, feeling tired and grumpy, to find his room empty. He figured Tsuzuki must have been with Watari and it was on his way to the blond's room that he heard voices coming from a nearby hall.
For a moment he thought about reporting it. Returning to school drunk so late that it was already early was *not* an appropriate behaviour. Besides, he wasn't exactly famous for his solidarity with his fellow students, Actually, everyone pretty much hated him.
And how someone so unpopular ends up being president of the student council, you say? Simple; everyone hated him- feared him even- but everyone also knew that if you wanted something done, Tatsumi was the one to go to. No one really knew why he had so much influence, and he sure wasn't about to tell them.
He wouldn't have doubted for a second before reporting them- Muraki wasn't precisely his favourite person in the world; but he just couldn't do it. He could still remember vividly how he'd felt after his mother had died. He himself had done a few stupid things and he knew Muraki wouldn't act that way if it wasn't for the circumstances. The white haired boy might have been popular for his attitude and his disrespect for authority, but he'd always had a good conduct.
Tatsumi's mind took him back to the days after his mother passed away. He'd been so utterly lost; the guilt and the pain had almost driven him, the always calmed and controlled person that he was, to the verge of insanity.
But he didn't want to remember that. Ever. So he left them there, not making his presence known, and returned to his previous task. The blue eyed boy could certainly sympathize; so he decided to cut Muraki some slack this time around and forget he'd ever seen anything,
His next thoughts were of a much lighter nature, though they still troubled him. He hoped Tsuzuki wouldn't be mad at him for leaving him on his own the entire night. He also hoped that neither Tsuzuki or Watari had spent the night eating sweets without sleeping. Which drove him to his next dilemma.
Had they slept at all, where had they done it? He surely couldn't imagine Hisoka offering to share his bed with Tsuzuki. The dorm rooms' beds were somewhat narrow- he knew this out of experience- and to share the bed you had to practically sleep pressed to the other person. Either that or snuggle; Tatsumi really couldn't imagine Hisoka snuggling with Tsuzuki.
That left him with the option of Hisoka snuggling with Watari. Now, that was a thought he didn't want to consider but, given the other option- which his brain seemed to purposely ignore for some reason- it seemed like the only plausible possibility. He could already feel his blood boiling.
Hisoka had become a threat in just one day, Tatsumi realised. He really liked the green eyed boy, he was his sort of person; responsible, centred.... But he had disrupted the perfect balance that was their relationship. He knew Watari wouldn't go out without anyone outside their little circle so, as long as they were three- Muraki and Oriya had never managed to be a part of it, without not really being outsiders- he could be with Tsuzuki and know that Watari would always be available should their situation change.
It was a cowardly thing to do, he knew it, but he couldn't conceive being the one to break things off with Tsuzuki. He *did* love him, after all; choosing between the two was unacceptable and Tsuzuki had been there first. But now they were four. Hisoka was a good looking kid and Watari really seemed to like him. Now he had to decide if his love for Tsuzuki was strong enough to let Watari go. Now he had to choose, and he did *not* like it.
He'd been too distracted with his thoughts, for what he was surprised when he found himself already in front of Watari's door. Knocking was not an option, of course. One of the three *had* to be sleeping; at the least! So he pulled the knob tentatively, putting a great amount of effort to open the door as quietly as he could.
The first thing Tatsumi noticed was that the door didn't open completely. Somehow he managed to sneak in and found that it was actually a very dishevel, shocked Hisoka who had been blocking the door.
Just then the boy seemed to realise there was someone new in the dim lit room. He turned his head slightly to look at him, eyes wide and Tatsumi noticed how his young friend's face turned from death pale to beet red in a split second. Hisoka turned his gaze again to the point where he'd had been focusing it earlier and opened his mouth as if to say something. Whatever it was though, it never left his lips.
Worried, Tatsumi followed Hisoka's gaze. But he was not ready for what he saw.
His brain, as mentioned, had omitted the third option. Call it repression; call it lack of imagination. Truth was, it would have been too much for him to bare. Ok, make that, *it was* too much for him to bare.
Before he had time to help it, Tatsumi was wearing an expression as dumbstruck as Hisoka's. For some reason, the words 'fan service' had stuck in his brain as he started walking, slowly and robotically, towards the bed on the right. Hisoka seemed to take courage in his action, because he followed him.
They ended up each on either side of the bed, staring down in awe at the piles and piles of empty candy wrapping and the two boys guilty of the mess. Both avoiding to look at each other to hide the fact that they were both blushing furiously.
Tsuzuki was sleeping with a contented smile on his face; resting on his back, turned slightly to his left side...with his arms wrapped tightly around Watari's waist and his face buried on the blond hair that fell messily all around the two of them. As for Watari, he was snuggled up to Tsuzuki, his head tucked in the crook of the older boy's neck and under his chin, with his arms around Tsuzuki as well.
Hisoka looked from a half dressed Tsuzuki and Watari to a very red Tatsumi a couple of times.
Imagine his shock when he'd returned to his room to such a scene! If he'd been half asleep before that, now he sure as hell was awake!
Tatsumi seemed about to explode. Hisoka thought he could almost see the steam coming out from his ears and nose, but he was *very* aware that it wasn't anger or jealousy what had left his new friend in such a state. In fact, for the first time since he'd met him, Tatsumi's feelings were so strong Hisoka had a hard time telling if the heat he felt growing from his belly to his face was truly his.
Not that he had reasons of his own to feel like that. No sir; na-ah.
He decided to say something, quickly, because if he didn't stop this soon, he feared Tatsumi might just lose it right there.
"Should...should we wake them?" his voice came out thin and shaky, but it was enough to shake the taller boy of his stupor.
Tatsumi had to open his mouth a couple of times before his brain had made sense of the words he wanted to say. It took him a little longer than usual, but under the circumstances, he thought he did pretty good.
"No...no I...think it's better if we let them...sleep." Tatsumi seemed to notice something then, and stare suspiciously at Hisoka. "Where were you?" he tried to say casually, but failed.
Hisoka had no intention of telling he'd slept in the library. He had an image to maintain, after all. And besides, Tatsumi didn't exactly look like he'd gotten much sleep either. Here he was, dressed with yesterday's clothes- if the wrinkles were any indication- with bags under his eyes and his hair mused. And lets not forget, his boyfriend had spent the night in a candy orgy with another boy and just now he realised.
"Where were *you*?" was Hisoka's only reply.
Tatsumi was unpleasantly surprised to find someone as perceptive as himself. It was no fun, really. But it did make him respect Hisoka a bit more.
"Fair enough." he answered coldly, but kindly, and the inquiry was dropped.
During that little distraction, they didn't notice one sleepy amber eye opening slightly; unfocused and foggy. Now they could see it, from under a mess of golden locks, staring at them confusedly.
"Waaaaaaaah!!!!!" Watari wailed suddenly, making them both jump. He leaped from the bed with surprising speed and height, landing on his back and revealing a green, little parakeet that god knows where had been sleeping. The bird added to the effect, squeaking and flapping her wings in distress. "Tatsumi-kun, Hisoka-kun! It's...It's not what it looks like!!"
----------------------------
The small cabin was filled with the blue-ish, smelly smoke curling upwards as if dancing towards the ceiling, to form a fetid, homogeneous cloud. Not that he cared; after staring for countless hours into the grey, immobile images on the monitors, everything in his world was grey. Smell, as hideous as it might have been, was better than the cold, sense numbing screen.
Besides, let's not forget the source of said smoke; he could get lung cancer for all he cared, he wouldn't give up the perfect moments provided by his favourite cigarette brand for a long life time without them.
'Next year...' he promised himself. Just one more year and he'd quit that pathetic, alienating job and try for the police academy. He was still young enough; there was no reason for him not to try to fulfil his life long dream. He didn't care that all the rich brats in that stuck up school would think his dream was laughable. Most of those kids didn't even have to dream; they could snap their fingers and daddy would get whatever they wanted for them.
In spite of being spring, the air was unusually chilly, and the small security cabin didn't provide enough of a cover for Terazuma Hajime to feel comfortable. He wondered why he'd ever agreed to take the night shift, when a memory of having to control an obscene amount of brats during recess immediately gave him the answer. At least the annoying little pricks were asleep; even if he was freezing his bones.
The smoke that was supposed to warm his lungs just wasn't cutting it. Had it been just a few hours earlier, he'd called Wakaba and asked her to bring a coat and grace him with her company. But he couldn't call her at four thirty in the morning.
There was a soft sound, that in the silence of the night seemed ten times louder, and succeeded in startling Terazuma a little. It was like the creak of old wood but, aside from the trees at the side of the main road, there wasn't any wooden structures around.
The sound came again and Terazuma decided that it was probably one of the kids either trying to sneak out, or in, and he'd give them a proper scare. Out of routine, he checked every monitor as he picked up his flashlight and keys.
One of the monitors caught his attention, though. It was a shot of one of the dorm's halls; it was as if a cloud...a wave of a dark, black smoke- curling and dancing very much as the one coming from his dying cigarette- was flowing through the hall's floor. As if it had a life of it's own.
He was still trying to process what he was seeing when the darkness of the hall grew and engulfed the whole picture just a second before the signal for that camera was lost. He dismissed the incident as an electronic failure. He wouldn't admit, even to himself, that he was starting to feel a tad freaked out. The creak was heard again, this time followed by a small, acute whimper.
Jumping into motion, he stepped out of his cabin and into the darkened park. His breath caught in his throat. He heard the whimper louder- closer- this time. The macabre shadows of the park seemed to have a life of their own, moving at an abnormal rhythm and pace that had nothing to do with the lights coming from the city.
Not knowing whether he should go get help or simply run the hell away from that place, he just stood there for a moment; his flashlight focussed into nothingness. He turned around, eyes wide with shock, when he realised the creaking sound was now right behind him. He didn't have time to see what it was though, as a sharp pain travelled from his head to his toes before passing out.
~Tsuzuku~
General gasp: AAAAAAAH!!! Terazuma-chan!!!!! Konnie-chan, what have you done!!??
*Konnie-chan ducks and hides from angry Terazuma fans*
He'll be ok, don't worry... maybe...perhaps...
I thought I'd thank the reviews for my other fic, 'Parallels'...I just feel like doing that, okies? It *was* Mur/ori, Tatari. Let's see if I can explain this,...uhm...Tari chan was the uke talking and Muraki the seme? Yes, something like that. I just think that Tatsumi and Muraki have a lot in common (sans the part of Muraki being a psycho) So I though of this. It was weird, I know. -
Katsue, Dyingstar-elipsis, Yami no Tenshi (angel of darkness, right?), not so innocent bystander, Kara angitia, Kyraille Fade *-*, Lothorien1 (yay, LOTR rules!) and xXLil Yu JahXx; thanks a lot for your reviews and sorry for the headache!!!
Now the answer to the reviews for this fic!!! @.@
Lina: No, I'm not from Spain, but since you mention you're not native from Britain, I can say where I'm from freely *.* I'm from Argentina; you know, South America? The country at the bottom, bottom of the world? That's me.
Muraki is intriguing even for me! And I'm writing this! Hisoka is, for some reason, so fun to write. But my favourite has to be Watari; with Tsuzuki a close second. And I don't mean Watari/Tatsumi...Though Tatsumi is sooo cool. But Watari's no one's favourite *pout* Why isn't he everyone's favourite? T.T
Spoon no Miko: I'm not sure what I'll do with Tsuzuki-chan's past yet. I'll probably hint at it, but with more of a hint than the cannon. Thanks for liking this!!
Loki's rose: Ah, it's always so nice to see such a serious reviewer turn into a puddle of drool with a simple hug!! Lol. I honestly thought Kacho was his name; well, never mind that, pretend it is? And that whole reasoning about reincarnation was exactly what I thought too; though maybe, just maybe, the whole mystery around his past is part of Tsuzuki's character? I'm not sure. Everyone's answers left me more confused than before, lol. Don't be afraid for the characters' safety....be *terrified* Mwahahaha!!
Mel-chan-of-doom: *blush* Really, you like? *blush* Rodents are cool. They have these cute little teeth and those cute little noses and the ears!! Rodents are ok, never be ashamed of having a rodent characteristic!! Anyway, thanks for such a pretty review!!
xXLil Yu JahXx: Mmm....Gullible, are we? Well, you know?...I don't tell everyone this but, since you left such a nice review, I'll tell you. I'm actually a deity,...yes, a deity, and my command for you humans is...Give me all your money!!! Now! Or you'll have to face me pissed off!!! Anyway! Thanks, this was so much better!! Lol. (really, really sorry for the headache! Hontoni gomene!)
Merry Xmas (war is over, if you want it)
Ja ne!