Author's Notes-- ( 5:48 PM 2/7/03 ) This chapter is honouring of the lovely idea from Whisper Reilman (that was eagerly supported by newtypeshadow). I took you guys' advice and went for it. So, here we go! ^_^
* I had this complete and ready to post yesterday. You can thank FanFiction.Net for being such an ass for the delay. _
# I have an OmiNagi fic up called "You're My Territory", if you're a fan of the couple, or anything, I would love feedback or opinions! ^^;;
Disclaimer-- I own nothing. Except for this Feng Shui coffee mug. And you can't have it.
Warnings-- Language, Shounen ai (mentions: SchuxYouji), Racial predjudice, OOC (I'm workin' on it, I'm workin')
//blah// -- Thoughts (ex: //What should I say, now?//)
"blah" -- Dialogue (ex: "Your mom.")
„blah" -- Visably Foreign Dialogue (ex: „Wie ghet's?")
‡blah‡ -- Song Lyrics (ex: ‡Utsukushii wakare o tsugeru daro‡)
* * * * *
Somewhat Damaged * Seph Lorraine
Act II: Scene III: New Roommate
* * * * *
School on Monday was nothing special. Classes had gone by fairly easily so far, very dull, infact.
First period had gone by with the same continuous harassment from the three girls behind him (he had learned that ther names were Mindi, Misti, and Nadja -- even though he couldn't match the name to the face, he knew those were their names). Second period he managed to sleep through. Finally it was time for "Mittagessen", as the many German faculty members managed to refer to the 'Lunch break'.
Omi managed to meet Ken as soon as the brunett entered the door, his wide eyes being sharper than they seemed.
"Hey, Ken! I haven't talked to you in a while; where've you been all weekend?" The boy smiled brightly, his genki features glowing.
Ken smiled somewhat half-heartedly. He was happy the younger boy didn't seem angry with him, and he could understand some of what the younger boy had just said, "Ano... Hello, Omi. Nice to see..." the brunett paused on the last word, wondering if he was using it in the correct context, "you."
The blond smiled, his eyes widening (that's pretty wide), "You're getting better at your English, I see! That's awesome!"
The Japanese boy blinked.
"Ya know...? Awesome?" Nervous hand behind the head, seeing the brunett's still puzzled face, "Awesome! It's a word kind of like..." Omi wondered back, trying to remember the particular Japanese word that Aya seemed to abuse in his first period Biology class, "Sugoi!"
"Sugoi? Yes..." The brunett stood pussled, "What are you meaning?"
Omi sighed, beginning to realized how bad Ken's English tutor must have it, "'Awesome!' is English for 'Sugoi!'"
"Aa!" The Japanese boy nodded his head, smiling suddenly, "Awesome!"
"Yea..." The blond resisted the urge to roll his eyes and pointed to the table, where Ken was already headed.
Reaching the table, Ken froze, shortly followed by Omi. The Japanese boy felt the temperature in his cheeks rising quite considerably, and glanced at Omi, who was also on the track to a pretty nasty nose bleed.
Schuldig and the one Ken remembered as Youji, were back together, it was quite obvious. The redhead was straddled over the blond in one of the chairs, and the two were playing a very lengthy game of tonsil hockey. They also did nothing to hide their manic groping at one another.
"Er..." Ken was quite confused with the redhead, but when he pondered over it, he found that the first word to his mind was an English one. 'Slut'.
The brunett had been almost definate that there was something between Crawford and Schuldig, and he had been unwillingly reminded of it everytime he entered an English lesson. Though, it was quite obvious that where Schuldig might have been on a mental level with Crawford, he was obviously on a physical level with Youji. He was beginning to wish that the redhead wold pick who he was and who he was with so that Ken could classify him, and be done with it.
Wishing he could understand what the younger blond was yelling at the couple as they reluctantly broke apart, Ken took his seat, quietly.
After a moment Omi sat as well, "Damn. You think that was scary? It was worse yesterday." The blond spoke, casually forgetting the brunett's inability to understand him.
"They were out on the bleachers at the basketball courts during a one-on-one match between two freshmen-- right in the middle of a crowd, too. It was definately not a pretty site." The blonde huffed, burying his face in his hands.
"You'll understand one day, chibi." Youji winked.
"Er... Yea..." Omi glanced up, averting his eyes slightly.
"Hm... Youji? Lover? What do you say we go back to the dormitories?" The redhead leaned forward on his palms, leering at the lanky blond, who merely smirked.
The two got up without a second work and strode off to finish their business.
"Those two have some real issues. Did you know they were responsible for that big fire in the gym yesterday?" The blond said, without glancing at Ken's confused face, "Luckily, they didn't get caught, but -they- know they're guilty. Just no one else does." The younger boy snickered, finally turning to Ken again.
The brunett merely tugged upon his earring, staring blankly at the younger boy, "I don't know what you say."
"I know." The blond frowned, eyes sympathetic.
"I don't." The brunett smiled.
"You said that already." Blue eyes blinked.
"Yes!" Ken nodded.
"Er... Ok." Omi glanced off at the entrance to the commons, "Good to see we got that cleared up..."
"What was that?" The Japanese boy asked suddenly.
The blond glanced around, "What was what?"
Quirking an eyebrow, the brunett shook his head, standing to leave, "I am sorry, Omi kun. You are confuse me. I going at Library." He spoke very awkwardly, stumbling a bit on his words.
Omi blinked, "Damn, Ken. I believe that's the most I've ever heard you say at one time."
* * * * *
When the bell rung, signalling the ten minute interval to reach third period classes, Ken was suddenly filled with an icy sense of dread. He did -not- want to see the redhead again. Not after that dream. Not after acknowledging how much the redhead suspected him of... something.
There was no way Ran could really know anything, though. As far as research went, Hidaka Ken did not exist except for at Smaragd Wald Academy. That knowledge was one of Ken's very few comforts, and with that in mind, the brunett almost knew he would be safe here.
As he entered the door to room number 559, the Japanese boy was not very surprised to see all three of his 'intructor/translator's present. He muttered an apathetic, "Good afternoon" and lazily dropped into his desk, staring almost sulkily up at three very frozen faces.
Apparently they had all been in the midst of a very unimportant conversation of some sort; Schuldig was looking mischevious, Crawford appeared thoughtful and annoyed (so very annoyed), and Ran appeared... as Ran always appeared.
"Hello, Ken. How has your day been?" Crawford acknowledged the brunett, and nodded, beginning his lesson in English.
Already familiar with the phrase, the brunett easily responded, "It has been fine, sir, and yours, sir?"
"...Pleasant." The math teacher responded, "Are you prepared for a new lesson today?"
Ken took a moment to translate this in his mind before responding, "Yes, I am, sir."
Schuldig frowned, glancing at Crawford, "He sounds like he's in the military, Brad."
Nodding partially, Crawford turned to Ran, "Tell him, he doesn't need to use 'sir' after every sentence."
The redhead, turned his violet eyes upon Ken for the first time since the brunett had entered the classroom. His violet eyes watched the brunett, piercing through his own brown eyes, and searing the back of his mind. With a delicate tounge, he repeated the teacher's words quickly in rapt and fluent Japanese.
Ken nodded timidly, and continued to listen.
"Today we will be learning about the different parts of speech in general. Since, I have been informed of your lack of knowledge upon the subject." Crawford began, patiently waiting to continue as Ran translated the words, "I want you to take out a piece of paper and write this down." The darkhaired man gestured Ran to the board at the front of the room. "I will say what I want written, you will write it in Japanese, and Ken will copy it. Is that clear?"
"Hn." The stoic redhead grunted, pacing to the board, beginning to erase the stick figures and smiley faces that Schuldig had left all over the surface.
"HEY! That's art you're erasing, Fujimiya!" The German wailed, watching the eraser wipe away every last trace of 'art'.
Ken recognised the word 'art', and looked at what the German was referring to (a large jumble lines and curves on the board) and began to laugh lightly, "Ha! That is not art!"
Crawford lifted an eyebrow and the two redheads paused, everyone turning to look at the Japanese brunett. Their student who wasn't supposed to know any English was in his fourth lesson on the language, and already making wise-cracks and smart-ass comments to his instructors? Maybe he wasn't a hopeless case.
When Ken noticed all of their eyes, he paused, frowning. Had he said something wrong? Had he been too offensive? Why the hell were these people so polite? -That- had hardly been an offensive comment, compared to what he was used to.
Crawford clapped suddenly, a smirk forming at the corners of his mouth, "Very good, Ken."
//Ha! I said something good! ...Yay!// Ken gave a slighly lopsided smile and shrugged, feeling like a school-boy... which he was.
Clearing his throat, and motioning for Ken to pull out a piece of paper and a pen, Crawford glanced back at Ran, who held a piece of chalk poised in mid air, waiting to write, as well.
As soon as Ken's materials were out, Crawford began, "There are six particular parts of the English language that are to be acknowledged. These are: nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and particles." He waited for a moment until he heard Ran stop writing, then he continued, "These are the basic elements of the English language."[1]
"Now, for definitions on just what these 'things' are, copy this: A noun is a word that refers to a person, place, thing, or idea. These nouns are classified into two categories. They are proper nouns, such as names and titles, and common nouns such as 'dog' or 'book'..."
The redhead was writing in elegant roomaji upon the chalkboard, the line in which he wrote was painfully straight and almost sickeningly perfect. Ken blinked for a moment, and raised his hand, as he had been instructed to do when he had a question.
"Yes, Ken?" Crawford asked, and Ran turned around where he was at the board.
"Ano..." Ken blinked at Ran, "Could you write it in kana? It is easier for me to read it that way."
The redhead narrowed his eyes, "I don't know any kana, or kanji, for that matter. When you start writing things in English you will have to use these same characters, anyway, so you better just get used to it now." His voice was flat as he spoke.
Sighing, the brunett nodded and continued to write.
Crawford glanced behind him at Ran's writing and blinked, "I thought that Japanese was written in all of those obscure symbols."
Another glare from the violet eyes of Fujimiya Ran, "I don't write it that way."
"Don't? or don't know how?" The German, now sprawled out on the top of the desk jested, snickering lightly. "I thought all you dirty Japanese wrote the same way."
"Do yourself a favour and fuck off, filthy German." Ran muttered back.
"Oh, Fujimiya, the things you say! Am I pulling the strings a bit too tight?" Schuldig sat up, his green eyes teasing and full of mischief.
Crawford glared at them both, "Both of you fuck off. I'm trying to teach someone something of value, and you two are interrupting my lesson."
The German shrugged, sending a sideways glare at Ran and blowing a brief kiss at the math teacher (who rolled his eyes and glared back), before lying back onto the desk again.
Ken, figuring that they had pretty much forgotten about him, took the chance in which they were distracted to make origami with his English notes.
* * * * *
The rest of Ken's day was rather uneventful. He was glad to throw down his things and collapse onto his bed at the end of the day. It was to his surprise when he was awoken, three hours later by a heavy knocking on his dormitory door.
„Chotto matte kudasai." [trans: "Just a moment, please."] He practically yelled, forgetting his present location, and standing to stretch as he figured it out.
The knocking came again, and he sighed, „Er... Eine Momenten bitte!" [trans: "One moment, please."]
The knocking persisted.
"I come! Damnit, I come!" He answered as best he could, pacing to the door to swing it open almost violently. //These people have -no- patience!//
As the brunett pulled the door opened, it was instead pushed open for him. Stumbling back a bit, Ken watched as Fujimiya Ran entered the room silently, tossing three bags and a case onto the spare bed in the dorm room. Without a word, the redhead closed the door for the stunned brunett and walked silently over to his things to unpack.
Ken blinked, trying to understand what the redhead was doing, "What are you doing here?"
Ran paused from unpacking one of his bags into a drawer on the other side of the once-empty bed, "I'm your new roommate." He responded tonelessly and continued to arrange his things, shoving empty bags under the bed and hanging up a few items in the only closet in the room.
"How come...?"
"I'm not sure."
The Japanese redhead paused, surveying the empty closet as he hung up his long black trenchcoat, he blinked narrowly and glancing back at Ken, without emotion, "I can see your wardrobe is of quite an unimaginable size." He spoke shallowly, in carefully enunciated Japanese. He brushed a few specs of dust from his tacky orange sweater.
The brunett glanced at the one small bag he had placed on the trunk at the foot at his bed. It was a small green duffle bag with the image of a white soccerball on the side and the kanji of his name and school. It was a small bag, only meant for carrying the few necessities of his sport in it, and even now as it remained packed (minus an odd pair of goggles he had placed around the top of his lamp and the uniform he was currently wearing), it was only half full.
He took a glance from his own pathetic excuse for luggage to Ran's items, all piled upon the other man's bed. //It must be nice to be so fortunate in all your belongings... You'll probably rub it in my face later.// He sat on his bed and watched the redhead, "You could say that. It certainly isn't of an impressive size."
The redhead merely lifted a brow as he drew up a rather long, oddly-shaped black bag. He opened the zipper and paused as he grabbed something within, giving a mild glance at Ken, "What you're about to see does not leave this room. If you mention it's existance here to anyone on this campus, I will not hesitate to 'put you away'." The redhead had let go of the object, and quickly advanced on the brunett, his violet eyes sending an icy chill down the brunett's spine. Ran was serious.
He reached into the bag, drawing out a long thinly curved object. It was secured safely by a crimson sheath, silver running down the side in ancient kanji that not even Ken was familiar with. It was much too old to be identified in usage of the modern Japanese language.
Ken's brown eyes widened slowly as the redheaded Japanese man drew the long shimmering blade out of the sheathe, taking a graceful and perfectly practised slice through the air. It was an antique katana. Just like the one in his dream.
The brunett felt the breath leave his body as quickly as if had come in, as he remembered the dream. In his dream, Ran had weilded that katana at him, aiming to kill. Now, here was Ran, with that same katana, slicing it through the air right before the brunett.
And what had he said in that dream?
"Get you back, you demon."
"Get you back to the regions of hell from whence you came."
"Seek no solace here."
Pure panic ceased the brunett in a way he had only once experienced before, outside of a dream, that is. He froze, his skin going pale, as he watched the katana. He couldn't move. He couldn't think straight. He couldn't make words form in his mouth.
His mind drew him back to memories, the broken glass upon the floor, the blood that covered his body, the spillt champaigne, the pain...
Suddenly he was drawn back even farther as he felt the searing pain spread across his skin. It covered his chest, his arms, his legs, his back, and even his face. And almost as clear as it had been last time, he heard his name called. Though, this time it wasn't teasingly affectionate; it was toneless. And it wasn't even his given name; it was his surname.
"Hidaka!"
Ken snapped out of it instantly to meet two glaring, yet somewhat curious, violet eyes. He searched for words to speak, but he wasn't exactly sure what he should say at such a moment.
"What's wrong with you?" His tone was one meant as an insult, not a question. The redhead turned, lifting up the matress at the lip of his bed, and placing the ancient sword gently beneath it's cover. "It's just a sword."
"I... I know..." Ken frowned. What was happening to him? It was like everything on the planet had a mission to make him remember, when he had run so far to get away from it. He had come so far to hide, and maybe become normal again, but everyday was a rememberance more violent, and more painful than the last. He had already given up his soul. What did that bastard 'fate' want now?
Seeing Ran's motion of hiding the katana, the brunett was reminded of a secret, hidden beneath his own mattress. He glanced down at the end of the bed under which it was hidden, the slight bump in the mattress that signalled it's presence. It wasn't something Ken had wanted to bring with him; but 'only a fool leaves protection behind when he enters the dark'. And Ken was very deep into the dark now.
* * * * *
Notes--
[1] I know what you're thinking. 'I already know all of this shit. Hopefully she won't go into any detail about it.' But, I must unfortunately dash your hopes right now. Prepare to hear some very detailed explanations on grammer and word usage in later English lessons. I will relate it all from Japanese, so anyone who is learning the language of Nihongo might actually care to read it as it will tell a lot about Japanese sentence structure and word usage, but you'll be learning something! ...Maybe. I'm probably going to become some sort of damn English teacher when I 'grow-up'. u_u That thought depresses me.
* * * * *
Thank you to my reviewers:
AstralKitten-- Well, I can sure tell who you want Kenken with. ^_^ But don't worry, I think that RanKen label is assurance to us all how it's gonna' come out, ne? Aa, details on the finish up of that YoujiSchu scene yesterday were put up in here; no great detail, but there are many other chances. I'm extremely happy to see you like this story--or rather-- that you've fallin 'in love with' this story. :) YAY! That makes me happy! And thanks for your reassurance about the OOCness. I was beginning to worry. Thank you so much for your comments, they are such a pleasure to read!
Laurel-Crowned-- Not really bad things will be coming from the bruning trashcan; just casual background stuff. ^^;; I'll try to fit in some really crazy stuff later, though. I'm very happy you appear to be enjoying this! Your comments are nice to read. Thank you so much!
Shime-- Yes, yes! It seems to be a mission to the seniors at my school to 'defile the freshmen'. It's quite traumatising actually... I can't wait to write just how far Ran is gonna being going to stop the Ken and Aya 'thing'. I can only hope it will turn out as pleasing when read as when it's written. ^_^ Thank you for your comments!
Whisper Reilman-- (5 and 6) Aa! Operation roomate has commenced! ^_^ And the next scene title is "Post-It Fiend" just in honour of what Ran is going to do to poor Kenken. You have a lot of really excellent ideas, though, some that I am almost dying to use. Especially the one about destroying the orange sweater. Though, I don't think I would have Ken burn it... Instead, let's say he ripped it apart while trying to get it off of a certain redhead... You know, I probably could put a mud-fight somewhere in here... *Whistles* It's so obvious what this fic is going to lead to. Aa! You have a lot of good ideas, but I really gotta' try to stay in some boundries here. ^^;; I love your ideas soo much! And your comments are wonderful! Thank you so much for your reviews thay're a delight to read! :D
Alz-chan-- Yes, the deal with Kase will come out before too long, don't worry. I wouldn't leave you guys in the dark forever. ^_^ *Hands out candles* RaRa will eventually be a lot nicer to Ken, I promise. A -LOT- nicer. :D Aya chan stuck in a doorway? What do you mean? Thank you for your review!
newtypeshadow-- (5 and 6) Kasephobia! Yes! Woot! I like that. ^_^ You've got a hold on something, but it's just not exactly right... Kase is -not- a demon; nor is Ran a demonslayer, though Ken's dreams would betray otherwise. This isn't a supernatural fic, but Ken's dreams are supernatural. Again with me and my damn symbolism issue, all of Ken's dreams are some how symbolic, so they could include anything from fish with trumpets to demonslayers. Yes! And the roommate-thingy has commenced! Yay! I'm happy to see someone else liked the idea-- though don't expect everything to be peachy for long. I have plans... *Wicked laughter* "is the bad feeling about kenken, or about something hovering around kenken or in his head?" - You raise a very good question here. Unfortunately, I can't answer it yet. You'll just have to wait and find out. :) Thank you much for your comments! They're fun to read.
Shinigami-- Aa, this happens to be a lot like my highschool, actually. No, Ran really isn't even thinking about sexuality at the moment, I can garuntee you. His thoughts are going to be changing really soon, though. I don't think I'm really going to bring the 'OMG! I can't believe I'm gay!' chain of thought into this fic. I dunno, too much of that angst gets me stuck in a position where I get sick of writing it really quick. Yes, PDA's are prohibited, and you'll probably hear more about that during our next visit to detention... with Ran. ^_^ Thanks for your comments!
olivia-yuymaxwell-- Just two chapters? Okkei... You want me to make the parts much more interesting? u_u I'm trying, really. I don't know what else to add, other than making them longer; and that messes up my line of events... What do you mean alien? O_o Thanks for reading, though.
And also to: SchuSchu, Karyx, Jenny, starsong, Kyri, xxkurenaixx, kaen-chan, LittleIsa and AkikoYuy@gundamwing, to whom I've either replied to your review by e-mail or couldn't think of anything to respond with -- aka -- you've made me speechless. ^_^ I thank you very much for your reviews, they are greatly appreciated!
(As always, if your review is not responded to this time, it shall be next time.)
* * * * * (Meanwhile, in a near by nightclub...)
Seph: Oh my gods. o_o
Miri: What?
Seph: I just saw my first glimpses at Gluhen by looking around some picture galleries...
Miri: Yea? How does it look?
Seph: ;_; They destroyed Youji. Ken's feminine. Ran's got a braid (?). Omi's ugly.
Miri: O_O
Seph: ;_; A gun please? Anybody? I want to die...
NOTE: If anyone can explain to me this about Gluhen, -please- e-mail me or something. I can't stand not knowing anything. I love Kenken, and in the pictures I saw, he wasn't Kenken... And I'm distraught! I even had a nightmare about it last night (that and a satanist swin meet O_o)! Please! Someone tell me they haven't destroyed Weiss! Please!
Review Button: ...Chickity China, da Chinese Chickin.
* I had this complete and ready to post yesterday. You can thank FanFiction.Net for being such an ass for the delay. _
# I have an OmiNagi fic up called "You're My Territory", if you're a fan of the couple, or anything, I would love feedback or opinions! ^^;;
Disclaimer-- I own nothing. Except for this Feng Shui coffee mug. And you can't have it.
Warnings-- Language, Shounen ai (mentions: SchuxYouji), Racial predjudice, OOC (I'm workin' on it, I'm workin')
//blah// -- Thoughts (ex: //What should I say, now?//)
"blah" -- Dialogue (ex: "Your mom.")
„blah" -- Visably Foreign Dialogue (ex: „Wie ghet's?")
‡blah‡ -- Song Lyrics (ex: ‡Utsukushii wakare o tsugeru daro‡)
* * * * *
Somewhat Damaged * Seph Lorraine
Act II: Scene III: New Roommate
* * * * *
School on Monday was nothing special. Classes had gone by fairly easily so far, very dull, infact.
First period had gone by with the same continuous harassment from the three girls behind him (he had learned that ther names were Mindi, Misti, and Nadja -- even though he couldn't match the name to the face, he knew those were their names). Second period he managed to sleep through. Finally it was time for "Mittagessen", as the many German faculty members managed to refer to the 'Lunch break'.
Omi managed to meet Ken as soon as the brunett entered the door, his wide eyes being sharper than they seemed.
"Hey, Ken! I haven't talked to you in a while; where've you been all weekend?" The boy smiled brightly, his genki features glowing.
Ken smiled somewhat half-heartedly. He was happy the younger boy didn't seem angry with him, and he could understand some of what the younger boy had just said, "Ano... Hello, Omi. Nice to see..." the brunett paused on the last word, wondering if he was using it in the correct context, "you."
The blond smiled, his eyes widening (that's pretty wide), "You're getting better at your English, I see! That's awesome!"
The Japanese boy blinked.
"Ya know...? Awesome?" Nervous hand behind the head, seeing the brunett's still puzzled face, "Awesome! It's a word kind of like..." Omi wondered back, trying to remember the particular Japanese word that Aya seemed to abuse in his first period Biology class, "Sugoi!"
"Sugoi? Yes..." The brunett stood pussled, "What are you meaning?"
Omi sighed, beginning to realized how bad Ken's English tutor must have it, "'Awesome!' is English for 'Sugoi!'"
"Aa!" The Japanese boy nodded his head, smiling suddenly, "Awesome!"
"Yea..." The blond resisted the urge to roll his eyes and pointed to the table, where Ken was already headed.
Reaching the table, Ken froze, shortly followed by Omi. The Japanese boy felt the temperature in his cheeks rising quite considerably, and glanced at Omi, who was also on the track to a pretty nasty nose bleed.
Schuldig and the one Ken remembered as Youji, were back together, it was quite obvious. The redhead was straddled over the blond in one of the chairs, and the two were playing a very lengthy game of tonsil hockey. They also did nothing to hide their manic groping at one another.
"Er..." Ken was quite confused with the redhead, but when he pondered over it, he found that the first word to his mind was an English one. 'Slut'.
The brunett had been almost definate that there was something between Crawford and Schuldig, and he had been unwillingly reminded of it everytime he entered an English lesson. Though, it was quite obvious that where Schuldig might have been on a mental level with Crawford, he was obviously on a physical level with Youji. He was beginning to wish that the redhead wold pick who he was and who he was with so that Ken could classify him, and be done with it.
Wishing he could understand what the younger blond was yelling at the couple as they reluctantly broke apart, Ken took his seat, quietly.
After a moment Omi sat as well, "Damn. You think that was scary? It was worse yesterday." The blond spoke, casually forgetting the brunett's inability to understand him.
"They were out on the bleachers at the basketball courts during a one-on-one match between two freshmen-- right in the middle of a crowd, too. It was definately not a pretty site." The blonde huffed, burying his face in his hands.
"You'll understand one day, chibi." Youji winked.
"Er... Yea..." Omi glanced up, averting his eyes slightly.
"Hm... Youji? Lover? What do you say we go back to the dormitories?" The redhead leaned forward on his palms, leering at the lanky blond, who merely smirked.
The two got up without a second work and strode off to finish their business.
"Those two have some real issues. Did you know they were responsible for that big fire in the gym yesterday?" The blond said, without glancing at Ken's confused face, "Luckily, they didn't get caught, but -they- know they're guilty. Just no one else does." The younger boy snickered, finally turning to Ken again.
The brunett merely tugged upon his earring, staring blankly at the younger boy, "I don't know what you say."
"I know." The blond frowned, eyes sympathetic.
"I don't." The brunett smiled.
"You said that already." Blue eyes blinked.
"Yes!" Ken nodded.
"Er... Ok." Omi glanced off at the entrance to the commons, "Good to see we got that cleared up..."
"What was that?" The Japanese boy asked suddenly.
The blond glanced around, "What was what?"
Quirking an eyebrow, the brunett shook his head, standing to leave, "I am sorry, Omi kun. You are confuse me. I going at Library." He spoke very awkwardly, stumbling a bit on his words.
Omi blinked, "Damn, Ken. I believe that's the most I've ever heard you say at one time."
* * * * *
When the bell rung, signalling the ten minute interval to reach third period classes, Ken was suddenly filled with an icy sense of dread. He did -not- want to see the redhead again. Not after that dream. Not after acknowledging how much the redhead suspected him of... something.
There was no way Ran could really know anything, though. As far as research went, Hidaka Ken did not exist except for at Smaragd Wald Academy. That knowledge was one of Ken's very few comforts, and with that in mind, the brunett almost knew he would be safe here.
As he entered the door to room number 559, the Japanese boy was not very surprised to see all three of his 'intructor/translator's present. He muttered an apathetic, "Good afternoon" and lazily dropped into his desk, staring almost sulkily up at three very frozen faces.
Apparently they had all been in the midst of a very unimportant conversation of some sort; Schuldig was looking mischevious, Crawford appeared thoughtful and annoyed (so very annoyed), and Ran appeared... as Ran always appeared.
"Hello, Ken. How has your day been?" Crawford acknowledged the brunett, and nodded, beginning his lesson in English.
Already familiar with the phrase, the brunett easily responded, "It has been fine, sir, and yours, sir?"
"...Pleasant." The math teacher responded, "Are you prepared for a new lesson today?"
Ken took a moment to translate this in his mind before responding, "Yes, I am, sir."
Schuldig frowned, glancing at Crawford, "He sounds like he's in the military, Brad."
Nodding partially, Crawford turned to Ran, "Tell him, he doesn't need to use 'sir' after every sentence."
The redhead, turned his violet eyes upon Ken for the first time since the brunett had entered the classroom. His violet eyes watched the brunett, piercing through his own brown eyes, and searing the back of his mind. With a delicate tounge, he repeated the teacher's words quickly in rapt and fluent Japanese.
Ken nodded timidly, and continued to listen.
"Today we will be learning about the different parts of speech in general. Since, I have been informed of your lack of knowledge upon the subject." Crawford began, patiently waiting to continue as Ran translated the words, "I want you to take out a piece of paper and write this down." The darkhaired man gestured Ran to the board at the front of the room. "I will say what I want written, you will write it in Japanese, and Ken will copy it. Is that clear?"
"Hn." The stoic redhead grunted, pacing to the board, beginning to erase the stick figures and smiley faces that Schuldig had left all over the surface.
"HEY! That's art you're erasing, Fujimiya!" The German wailed, watching the eraser wipe away every last trace of 'art'.
Ken recognised the word 'art', and looked at what the German was referring to (a large jumble lines and curves on the board) and began to laugh lightly, "Ha! That is not art!"
Crawford lifted an eyebrow and the two redheads paused, everyone turning to look at the Japanese brunett. Their student who wasn't supposed to know any English was in his fourth lesson on the language, and already making wise-cracks and smart-ass comments to his instructors? Maybe he wasn't a hopeless case.
When Ken noticed all of their eyes, he paused, frowning. Had he said something wrong? Had he been too offensive? Why the hell were these people so polite? -That- had hardly been an offensive comment, compared to what he was used to.
Crawford clapped suddenly, a smirk forming at the corners of his mouth, "Very good, Ken."
//Ha! I said something good! ...Yay!// Ken gave a slighly lopsided smile and shrugged, feeling like a school-boy... which he was.
Clearing his throat, and motioning for Ken to pull out a piece of paper and a pen, Crawford glanced back at Ran, who held a piece of chalk poised in mid air, waiting to write, as well.
As soon as Ken's materials were out, Crawford began, "There are six particular parts of the English language that are to be acknowledged. These are: nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and particles." He waited for a moment until he heard Ran stop writing, then he continued, "These are the basic elements of the English language."[1]
"Now, for definitions on just what these 'things' are, copy this: A noun is a word that refers to a person, place, thing, or idea. These nouns are classified into two categories. They are proper nouns, such as names and titles, and common nouns such as 'dog' or 'book'..."
The redhead was writing in elegant roomaji upon the chalkboard, the line in which he wrote was painfully straight and almost sickeningly perfect. Ken blinked for a moment, and raised his hand, as he had been instructed to do when he had a question.
"Yes, Ken?" Crawford asked, and Ran turned around where he was at the board.
"Ano..." Ken blinked at Ran, "Could you write it in kana? It is easier for me to read it that way."
The redhead narrowed his eyes, "I don't know any kana, or kanji, for that matter. When you start writing things in English you will have to use these same characters, anyway, so you better just get used to it now." His voice was flat as he spoke.
Sighing, the brunett nodded and continued to write.
Crawford glanced behind him at Ran's writing and blinked, "I thought that Japanese was written in all of those obscure symbols."
Another glare from the violet eyes of Fujimiya Ran, "I don't write it that way."
"Don't? or don't know how?" The German, now sprawled out on the top of the desk jested, snickering lightly. "I thought all you dirty Japanese wrote the same way."
"Do yourself a favour and fuck off, filthy German." Ran muttered back.
"Oh, Fujimiya, the things you say! Am I pulling the strings a bit too tight?" Schuldig sat up, his green eyes teasing and full of mischief.
Crawford glared at them both, "Both of you fuck off. I'm trying to teach someone something of value, and you two are interrupting my lesson."
The German shrugged, sending a sideways glare at Ran and blowing a brief kiss at the math teacher (who rolled his eyes and glared back), before lying back onto the desk again.
Ken, figuring that they had pretty much forgotten about him, took the chance in which they were distracted to make origami with his English notes.
* * * * *
The rest of Ken's day was rather uneventful. He was glad to throw down his things and collapse onto his bed at the end of the day. It was to his surprise when he was awoken, three hours later by a heavy knocking on his dormitory door.
„Chotto matte kudasai." [trans: "Just a moment, please."] He practically yelled, forgetting his present location, and standing to stretch as he figured it out.
The knocking came again, and he sighed, „Er... Eine Momenten bitte!" [trans: "One moment, please."]
The knocking persisted.
"I come! Damnit, I come!" He answered as best he could, pacing to the door to swing it open almost violently. //These people have -no- patience!//
As the brunett pulled the door opened, it was instead pushed open for him. Stumbling back a bit, Ken watched as Fujimiya Ran entered the room silently, tossing three bags and a case onto the spare bed in the dorm room. Without a word, the redhead closed the door for the stunned brunett and walked silently over to his things to unpack.
Ken blinked, trying to understand what the redhead was doing, "What are you doing here?"
Ran paused from unpacking one of his bags into a drawer on the other side of the once-empty bed, "I'm your new roommate." He responded tonelessly and continued to arrange his things, shoving empty bags under the bed and hanging up a few items in the only closet in the room.
"How come...?"
"I'm not sure."
The Japanese redhead paused, surveying the empty closet as he hung up his long black trenchcoat, he blinked narrowly and glancing back at Ken, without emotion, "I can see your wardrobe is of quite an unimaginable size." He spoke shallowly, in carefully enunciated Japanese. He brushed a few specs of dust from his tacky orange sweater.
The brunett glanced at the one small bag he had placed on the trunk at the foot at his bed. It was a small green duffle bag with the image of a white soccerball on the side and the kanji of his name and school. It was a small bag, only meant for carrying the few necessities of his sport in it, and even now as it remained packed (minus an odd pair of goggles he had placed around the top of his lamp and the uniform he was currently wearing), it was only half full.
He took a glance from his own pathetic excuse for luggage to Ran's items, all piled upon the other man's bed. //It must be nice to be so fortunate in all your belongings... You'll probably rub it in my face later.// He sat on his bed and watched the redhead, "You could say that. It certainly isn't of an impressive size."
The redhead merely lifted a brow as he drew up a rather long, oddly-shaped black bag. He opened the zipper and paused as he grabbed something within, giving a mild glance at Ken, "What you're about to see does not leave this room. If you mention it's existance here to anyone on this campus, I will not hesitate to 'put you away'." The redhead had let go of the object, and quickly advanced on the brunett, his violet eyes sending an icy chill down the brunett's spine. Ran was serious.
He reached into the bag, drawing out a long thinly curved object. It was secured safely by a crimson sheath, silver running down the side in ancient kanji that not even Ken was familiar with. It was much too old to be identified in usage of the modern Japanese language.
Ken's brown eyes widened slowly as the redheaded Japanese man drew the long shimmering blade out of the sheathe, taking a graceful and perfectly practised slice through the air. It was an antique katana. Just like the one in his dream.
The brunett felt the breath leave his body as quickly as if had come in, as he remembered the dream. In his dream, Ran had weilded that katana at him, aiming to kill. Now, here was Ran, with that same katana, slicing it through the air right before the brunett.
And what had he said in that dream?
"Get you back, you demon."
"Get you back to the regions of hell from whence you came."
"Seek no solace here."
Pure panic ceased the brunett in a way he had only once experienced before, outside of a dream, that is. He froze, his skin going pale, as he watched the katana. He couldn't move. He couldn't think straight. He couldn't make words form in his mouth.
His mind drew him back to memories, the broken glass upon the floor, the blood that covered his body, the spillt champaigne, the pain...
Suddenly he was drawn back even farther as he felt the searing pain spread across his skin. It covered his chest, his arms, his legs, his back, and even his face. And almost as clear as it had been last time, he heard his name called. Though, this time it wasn't teasingly affectionate; it was toneless. And it wasn't even his given name; it was his surname.
"Hidaka!"
Ken snapped out of it instantly to meet two glaring, yet somewhat curious, violet eyes. He searched for words to speak, but he wasn't exactly sure what he should say at such a moment.
"What's wrong with you?" His tone was one meant as an insult, not a question. The redhead turned, lifting up the matress at the lip of his bed, and placing the ancient sword gently beneath it's cover. "It's just a sword."
"I... I know..." Ken frowned. What was happening to him? It was like everything on the planet had a mission to make him remember, when he had run so far to get away from it. He had come so far to hide, and maybe become normal again, but everyday was a rememberance more violent, and more painful than the last. He had already given up his soul. What did that bastard 'fate' want now?
Seeing Ran's motion of hiding the katana, the brunett was reminded of a secret, hidden beneath his own mattress. He glanced down at the end of the bed under which it was hidden, the slight bump in the mattress that signalled it's presence. It wasn't something Ken had wanted to bring with him; but 'only a fool leaves protection behind when he enters the dark'. And Ken was very deep into the dark now.
* * * * *
Notes--
[1] I know what you're thinking. 'I already know all of this shit. Hopefully she won't go into any detail about it.' But, I must unfortunately dash your hopes right now. Prepare to hear some very detailed explanations on grammer and word usage in later English lessons. I will relate it all from Japanese, so anyone who is learning the language of Nihongo might actually care to read it as it will tell a lot about Japanese sentence structure and word usage, but you'll be learning something! ...Maybe. I'm probably going to become some sort of damn English teacher when I 'grow-up'. u_u That thought depresses me.
* * * * *
Thank you to my reviewers:
AstralKitten-- Well, I can sure tell who you want Kenken with. ^_^ But don't worry, I think that RanKen label is assurance to us all how it's gonna' come out, ne? Aa, details on the finish up of that YoujiSchu scene yesterday were put up in here; no great detail, but there are many other chances. I'm extremely happy to see you like this story--or rather-- that you've fallin 'in love with' this story. :) YAY! That makes me happy! And thanks for your reassurance about the OOCness. I was beginning to worry. Thank you so much for your comments, they are such a pleasure to read!
Laurel-Crowned-- Not really bad things will be coming from the bruning trashcan; just casual background stuff. ^^;; I'll try to fit in some really crazy stuff later, though. I'm very happy you appear to be enjoying this! Your comments are nice to read. Thank you so much!
Shime-- Yes, yes! It seems to be a mission to the seniors at my school to 'defile the freshmen'. It's quite traumatising actually... I can't wait to write just how far Ran is gonna being going to stop the Ken and Aya 'thing'. I can only hope it will turn out as pleasing when read as when it's written. ^_^ Thank you for your comments!
Whisper Reilman-- (5 and 6) Aa! Operation roomate has commenced! ^_^ And the next scene title is "Post-It Fiend" just in honour of what Ran is going to do to poor Kenken. You have a lot of really excellent ideas, though, some that I am almost dying to use. Especially the one about destroying the orange sweater. Though, I don't think I would have Ken burn it... Instead, let's say he ripped it apart while trying to get it off of a certain redhead... You know, I probably could put a mud-fight somewhere in here... *Whistles* It's so obvious what this fic is going to lead to. Aa! You have a lot of good ideas, but I really gotta' try to stay in some boundries here. ^^;; I love your ideas soo much! And your comments are wonderful! Thank you so much for your reviews thay're a delight to read! :D
Alz-chan-- Yes, the deal with Kase will come out before too long, don't worry. I wouldn't leave you guys in the dark forever. ^_^ *Hands out candles* RaRa will eventually be a lot nicer to Ken, I promise. A -LOT- nicer. :D Aya chan stuck in a doorway? What do you mean? Thank you for your review!
newtypeshadow-- (5 and 6) Kasephobia! Yes! Woot! I like that. ^_^ You've got a hold on something, but it's just not exactly right... Kase is -not- a demon; nor is Ran a demonslayer, though Ken's dreams would betray otherwise. This isn't a supernatural fic, but Ken's dreams are supernatural. Again with me and my damn symbolism issue, all of Ken's dreams are some how symbolic, so they could include anything from fish with trumpets to demonslayers. Yes! And the roommate-thingy has commenced! Yay! I'm happy to see someone else liked the idea-- though don't expect everything to be peachy for long. I have plans... *Wicked laughter* "is the bad feeling about kenken, or about something hovering around kenken or in his head?" - You raise a very good question here. Unfortunately, I can't answer it yet. You'll just have to wait and find out. :) Thank you much for your comments! They're fun to read.
Shinigami-- Aa, this happens to be a lot like my highschool, actually. No, Ran really isn't even thinking about sexuality at the moment, I can garuntee you. His thoughts are going to be changing really soon, though. I don't think I'm really going to bring the 'OMG! I can't believe I'm gay!' chain of thought into this fic. I dunno, too much of that angst gets me stuck in a position where I get sick of writing it really quick. Yes, PDA's are prohibited, and you'll probably hear more about that during our next visit to detention... with Ran. ^_^ Thanks for your comments!
olivia-yuymaxwell-- Just two chapters? Okkei... You want me to make the parts much more interesting? u_u I'm trying, really. I don't know what else to add, other than making them longer; and that messes up my line of events... What do you mean alien? O_o Thanks for reading, though.
And also to: SchuSchu, Karyx, Jenny, starsong, Kyri, xxkurenaixx, kaen-chan, LittleIsa and AkikoYuy@gundamwing, to whom I've either replied to your review by e-mail or couldn't think of anything to respond with -- aka -- you've made me speechless. ^_^ I thank you very much for your reviews, they are greatly appreciated!
(As always, if your review is not responded to this time, it shall be next time.)
* * * * * (Meanwhile, in a near by nightclub...)
Seph: Oh my gods. o_o
Miri: What?
Seph: I just saw my first glimpses at Gluhen by looking around some picture galleries...
Miri: Yea? How does it look?
Seph: ;_; They destroyed Youji. Ken's feminine. Ran's got a braid (?). Omi's ugly.
Miri: O_O
Seph: ;_; A gun please? Anybody? I want to die...
NOTE: If anyone can explain to me this about Gluhen, -please- e-mail me or something. I can't stand not knowing anything. I love Kenken, and in the pictures I saw, he wasn't Kenken... And I'm distraught! I even had a nightmare about it last night (that and a satanist swin meet O_o)! Please! Someone tell me they haven't destroyed Weiss! Please!
Review Button: ...Chickity China, da Chinese Chickin.