AN: This is set somewhere after Keisuke loses to the Eight Six, but before Ryosuke races it.
I must (once again) lay blame to Scribbles for this, for she didn't go as far as to write the piece for me, but I doubt I would have finished it without her. (For one thing, I had never heard of a 'non-tree' in my life…)

Disclaimer: I don't own Initial D.

Takahashi Keisuke was not a fan of academics. He was a sports fan, yes. A race fan, yes. But not a fan of school. He had hardly liked it when he and his brother were in high school together, let alone when he had to go by himself. But Ryosuke had said that he needed to go back to school, so he would go back to school. What exactly going to school would do for him, Keisuke wasn't sure; for all he knew he wanted to be a professional driver, but what Ry says goes, after all.

So Keisuke was enrolled back in college, with all of no goals to get him through it. His major, well that was still undecided. Career he was aiming for when he got out? Nothing so far. He just continued his education because Ryosuke said it would help. And that was that. And with such began his foul mood.

Today, Keisuke wasn't looking forward to the day what-so-ever. Not only was it a Monday morning, not only was he in school, and not only was he still half asleep, but he was also in a rather bad mood. Ry had been thinking ever more about that great little 'Phantom Eight Six,' and consequently, talking ever less to his younger brother. It wasn't something all too serious, but it was slowly making the younger boy sourer and sourer, and Keisuke was most certainly not one to be too far above jealousy. And there is no cure for not only being jealous of someone, but knowing that you are jealous of them, and not being able to do anything about it.

Usually, one of Keisuke's best qualities was that he was able to do great things without thinking about it. It may sound like an insult to say that the boy doesn't use his head while he drives, but it's the truth. And yet today, even though he would prefer not to think, and while he wasn't the best at it anyhow, his mood was distorting his thoughts and dropping his ability to focus. He wasn't depressed, it wasn't that big of a problem, but he was most definitely bothered. And so, with so much leaning against him, Keisuke was looking forward to a horrible, horrible day ahead of him…

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Keisuke was sitting in his first class on a Monday morning, the same way he had been doing for three Mondays now. He was sitting in the middle of an Art class. Yes, he had Ceramics first thing in the morning. Had it not been that Keisuke was good with his hands, he wouldn't have considered taking the class at all. The mechanics classes and anything in the related field of interest were all actually classes that he had either already passed in high school, or classes that focused on 'the history of…' or 'the theory behind...' He figured that he would rather work with his hands at something, before he would listen to more history lessons. Hell, if he was good at tinkering with all the small parts inside the engine, he should have fingers nimble enough to shape clay. And besides, Ry had said that he had to actually try to learn something this time…meaning he had to take new classes.

The Instructor began speaking, and Keisuke tried to pay attention - at least even for Ryosuke's sake - but it was nearly in vain. Keisuke heard as much as "blah, blah, blah, Abstract Art, blah, blah, blah," before he all but gave up on class today. It was just one of those days. He was just too focused on Ryosuke. There were just too many ties that bound Keisuke to his older brother.

'There's only so much I can control. My races…I used to always have the upper hand, then I battled that Eight Six…Now it's all thinking. Now everything is done…more like the way Ry would do it. Now I have to think. I couldn't win with just my skills alone. I couldn't just take the victory without a strategy. Winning used to just be an intangible thing…nothing you could place your thumb on like a metal or a trophy. I never got a real reward, and I never needed a systematic plan sketched out in front of me. Everything was just beyond a fine line. It was felt, not seen.

And now…even at home, even with Ryosuke, it's worse. There was always something about him - and there still is, I know he hasn't changed - that…well…that made him deserve the title of dynamo. He always had some sort of…aura around him. Some sort of air that made him seem authoritative and in control. It was something intangible. Something that you knew was there, but you couldn't exactly understand. There was a kind of mystery about him, but then, if ever you got a glimpse of the real him, there was the answer right there in front of you at last, from under all the layers of introversion. It's something…something abstract. No matter what way you look at him, there is always a new light that someone else might see him in.

Everyone thinks he is calm, cool, collected and perfect. And he is. But he's also still competitive, and still curious. There have still been times that I have seen him surprised, and shocked, and scared, even. It all depends on who sees him, and what they see in him. Just like winning.

The pros don't think much of winning street races anymore, because they don't look at 'pride' and stickers as much anymore, they look at 'prize money' and paychecks. I guess being a street racer is all about looking at the abstract side of the spectrum…and being a younger Takahashi is all about looking at abstract…art.'

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His next class was Biology. He had known that he would have to take a science class, and looking at Ry's line of work, Biology was the obvious path he was going to take.

Oddly enough, the class was still reviewing. It was odd, that a professor in college would, not only review what he hoped his students already knew, but that he would spend three weeks on the review. So far the class was only as far as reviewing chromosomes and DNA. They had a lot to do.

"And there are…how many sets of chromosomes in each cell in the human body?"

"Twenty-three," Came an answer. The professor wrote the answer on the board behind him for those that were taking notes. Keisuke only barely remembered learning this stuff.

"How many chromosomes in all does each sex cell contain?"

"Twenty-three." Both questions had the same answer…Keisuke quirked an eyebrow. 'So what does that mean?'

"Good. And what about DNA? How many types of bases are there in a strand of DNA?"

"Four," was the answer. The Prof. wrote it down. Keisuke was pretty sure he didn't recognize this.

"And what are those bases called?"

"Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and Guanine." Keisuke was lost. How did that guy spell all of those correctly? Keisuke couldn't even pronounce some of them!

"Very good. So what is the percent similarity in DNA between identical siblings?"

"100 percent…?" someone spoke up in an unsure voice.

"Yes, 100 percent. Good." And the professor went back to writing on the board. "And what is the percent similarity in the DNA of two average strangers?"

"99 percent," someone said. The professor turned around from his blackboard.

"Actually, it is 99.9 percent. Please, remember that," he said, giving the class a stern look for missing such a low level question. Keisuke thought that that last question rang a small bell of some sort, but he kept quiet, waiting for the next question.

"And finally, what is the average percent of similarity between normal siblings?" The question that they did not have the answer to had finally been asked. People in the class started to turn to each other, unsure. The professor began to turn to face the class, to raise an eyebrow.

"99.95 percent," Keisuke said. The professor looked at him.

"Correct." he wrote it down on the board.

'Ry told me that, a while ago…so we really are that similar? So there is really a less difference genetically between me and Ry, than me and anyone else? I knew that we're similar, and I know that we're…close, but we're…chemically made to be alike? Does that mean it has anything to do with personality? No, no…me and Ryosuke aren't that much alike personality-wise…we just…we just feel similar. I'm not analytical, and I don't think as much, and…he's not so…rash. Nor does he rush into things without thinking…

But somehow, I can tell if there is something wrong, and I can tell if he wants something, and, Hell, I can even tell when he's happy…I think. So if I wasn't Ryosuke's little brother, I would be…less like him? More like, since I am his brother, I'm more like him than anyone else could ever try to be? So, I am like Ry…'

Needless to say, Keisuke's esteem was up just a few points higher by the time he left that class.

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Keisuke had seven classes in a day, the third of which was Shop. Well, 'Woodshop,' as it was formally called. Again, it was a class for Keisuke to use his hands in, instead of his head. Mostly. Not using his head around the buzz saws was highly discouraged.

Though today, he was not using the machinery, anyway. Today was an 'all-out hand-job day,' as the students called it. Almost everyone was at a point where they no longer needed the machines to cut and size their projects, but that almost everyone would be using their hands alone today, be it from gluing to staining to sanding. Keisuke was currently involved in the latter, looking somewhat forlornly at his hand-sander. The usual loud buzzes and growls from the power tools and saws were absent today, making the class feel a little smaller, but a lot quieter.

The instructor was a bit of an eccentric old man, bustling about all over the classroom, checking up on people who looked like they needed a clue. Keisuke noticed as a student that he had laughed with a few times in the weeks before came in, dragging a little girl by the hand as he ran over. Keisuke stood at a table in the corner, near the door, while he watched the girl be pulled along, running in her own clumsy and anything-but-stealthy little run.

"What the Hell are you doing? And what's the kid?" Keisuke asked in a low voice, when the boy got close enough to hear him.

"Shhh! She's my sister's brat, Karen. I have to watch her, but I also have to give a presentation next class, so I figured I'd just get around with her in tow…don't let the prof. see!"

The girl was luckily just short enough to be hidden behind the solid tables that furnished the shop room. As long as the boys didn't seem to have a question, or made no problems, the instructor wasn't likely to come over. As it was, the boys had enough trouble trying to settle the girl. Seeing as she was both in a woodshop, and a little kid, she most definitely had a plethora of questions to be answered. Keisuke ignored her for the most part, working on his fourth and final nowhere-near-completed part of a table leg. But he looked down at her when she suddenly gripped the cuff of his shirt and asked with wide eyes: "What's that?"

She was looking at the manual sander in his hands. Keisuke looked at it with disregard, and shrugged his shoulders. Knowing that this answer would be unsatisfactory, the boy next to him quickly grabbed the sander to show to his niece.

"It's a sander, see? You drag it across wood and it makes the wood smooth."

"How?"

"Because of…" he pulled out the sandpaper that was fixed across the face of the little sander, "…this. Feel it, it's rough."

The girl made a face and seemed to giggle. So she had caught the irony of something so rough making something so smooth. Keisuke half-listened as he walked away to get another sander and the right paper. On the inside, Keisuke was turning the words over in his head.

'Something rough…something smooth. To give wood a smooth edge, you have to apply force with the coarse paper. To give a pot glaze or polish, you have to dip glaze it…then shake it really hard! Everything gentle or beautiful is accompanied by something totally opposite. The paper is a file. The shaking is a force. Both are strong, but the paper will wear down, and the arm will get tired.

But, it's not even like it's a whole lot happening, even though it makes a big difference. Sanding down an edge gives it that smooth touch, even though it was just from rubbing little pieces of sand on the wood. Strange how so small a thing as sand can change so hard a thing as wood. The sand is so small, but there are so many pieces of it, and it has such an effect.

Strange, how small things can change such stubborn things as long as there is a lot of it and it is consistent…Like racing. There are so many little things that will change a person, and make him like the exhilaration it gives you. From the numbers of the people there to watch, to the sound of the engines revving, to even - yes I'll admit it - the flames from those Evo's tails. All small bits and pieces of the night scene, but all are things that make you want to come back. For me, it wasn't a slow transition. I liked it as soon as Ryosuke introduced me to it…maybe that was because Ry introduced me to it that I liked it so fast…it was back then that he used to race all the time. He used to want to find a challenge…and when there weren't many challenges left, he started to train me to be better. Maybe that's it.

Maybe Ry is the real sandpaper. There are so many little ways that he makes me work harder, and get better…with just one word he can motivate me to practice night and day. There are so many tiny, but continual influences he has on me, even just by living with me everyday. Just by being there. Just by showing up. And hey, if it wasn't for Ryosuke, I would never have developed the skill that I have, and I would have never been able to polish my skills to the point that they are at. But then again, just as sand paper wears down after continual use, so does Ry get tired of the same old thing…he used to simply send me out to represent the both of us, knowing that usually he would never even be challenged by any opponent…and it's taken a while, but he's finally found something that piques his interest again. Perhaps it's just a little depressing, albeit quite selfish, to think that it isn't me.'

"Hey, sorry 'bout that," the other boy said, as Keisuke returned with another slip of sand paper. "Here, you can have your sander back."

"Thanks…" Keisuke answered, absentmindedly. "Don't worry about it…"

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Keisuke had a German class after he had Shop. By this time, it was still a little before noon, but Keisuke felt as if he had done enough thinking for the day. Hardly ever was he one to be considered very deep. It's not to say that the boy is insipid or shallow, but complex waxing and internal psychological debates were not things he was famous for. In fact, it was the exact opposite. But today, he had inadvertently thought deep into matters that he hadn't really known were there. He just knew he had been in a bad mood, and a lot of it had to do with his brother.

And so, stepping into the surprisingly smaller German classroom, the sarcastic thought on Keisuke's mind was, 'Oh great, my mind is already tired, and now I have to concentrate on speaking in another language? Oh yeah right…'

The instructor was already at the board, writing down part of the lesson for the day. Unfortunately, regardless of his age and class, Keisuke hadn't taken any previous language classes. In Middle school, he had opted to shift to a reading class instead, thinking that he really wasn't interested in wasting his time in a class like that. In High School, he had actually made a decision that both he and his brother had agreed with, and had taken a half day of academic classes at the actual school, while he forfeited his electives to go to a vocational technical school for the second half of the day. It was at this facility that he had received his official training on Automotive Technology, and Auto Body Repair.

So here he was in college, three weeks into his first German 1 class. The lesson began.

"Klasse, the new verb we will be learning and conjugating is the verb 'hoffen,' meaning 'hope.' It is a regular verb, so please, I am writing the conjugation of it on the board, and you should already be able to do in your notes."

On the board she wrote the words:

ich hoffe

du hoffst

er hofft

wir hoffen

ihr hofft

sie hoffen

Sie hoffen. (1)

Keisuke. copied the words into his notes. The teacher began rambling on about the verb, and its relation to and distinction from the words hoffen, können, and wollen. (2) Keisuke wasn't listening, though. Keisuke was thinking about all the things his brother had told him about 'hope.'

Ry had said that hope didn't really get you very far, but that that was just the only thing that kept you alive when you had nothing else. Keisuke had listened to him, and had followed in his footsteps, by working towards what he wanted; not just hoping it would come. Ry had worked hard to get into Medical School, and he was working hard still to graduate. Keisuke was working hard to become a professional racer, and believe it or not, he was closer up on the lists than a lot of people. Keisuke got the feeling that Ryosuke was working hard for him to become a pro too, what with all the work he would put in to the Red Suns, and all the practicing and showing that Ry made Keisuke put in.

And yet, Keisuke also got the feeling that while his brother may not believe that hope can get you very far, he still believed in hope. On one of the pages in Ry's Algebra notebook that he had given to Keisuke when he graduated the course, Keisuke found the phrase, "Dum Spiro Spero." Keisuke hadn't known what it meant, so he had asked Ryosuke, just out of curiosity. The older brother had said that the phrase was Latin, and that it meant "While I breathe, I hope."

Keisuke had been confused to say the least, at his brother's change in advice, but in the end he came to the conclusion that, while one must not rely on hope to do their dirty work, one must still have it, lest they - as Ry said - hit the very bottom, and have no hope to keep them alive. Keisuke had never hit such a low as to have nothing but hope to keep him going, but he imagined that if ever he did, his hope would be for only his brother to see. For Keisuke was sure that, if he was at an all-time low, it must be because Ryosuke wasn't there to help, for Ryosuke would never let his brother down.

'But…isn't that what's upsetting me? That I'm jealous? That I'm jealous because Ry has been so obsessed over that little Phantom of Akina? Aren't I upset because Ry is spending more time studying that car and that driver, than he is noticing me? Does that mean that he can't see me now? That if I hit the bottom right now, he wouldn't notice?'

Keisuke looked up only when someone brushed past him on their way to the door. Class was over. And for as much as his esteem had risen that day, by his next class, the change was pretty much balanced out by the drop he had just experienced.

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World Cultures wasn't a very high level History class, but it also wasn't very interesting. Keisuke had failed the course in High school because he couldn't keep himself awake through most of it. The failure was one that Ry had gotten angry over; knowing as he did that his brother could have done better, and had nearly made the boy give up racing all together for a month or so while Ry confined his brother to his studies.

While selecting his college courses, Keisuke had had to choose a History/World Studies course. When he saw the course title "World Cultures," he physically cringed, but when Ry had asked him what his fifth course was to be, Keisuke said "World Cultures." The disappointment Keisuke had seen in his brother when the failure slip of graduating the class came in the post was still there, etched in Keisuke's mind. His one and only goal for this class was to graduate it. He didn't much care for history, or culture, or even the rest of the world for that matter, but his drive to finish what he had started kept his eyes open during the class, and he was finding that he was indeed learning something everyday.

"Can anyone tell me that answer?"

Unfortunately, Keisuke was late, and what exactly the lesson was about, he didn't have a clue. He had had a hold up outside, and the class had begun without him. He slowly slunk in, found a seat, and attempted to catch himself up to speed. He had to at least try…

"Child labor is any type of paid work that is done by a minor that interrupts or prevents their education or anything else that they may need to properly develop, as in socializing, playing sports or games, or being with family." Keisuke's eye shot up to the kid that had given the response. How in the world had he known all that off the top? It was only then that Keisuke realized that the class had the textbooks open, and were reading straight from the pages.

He opened his book and flipped through the pages, finding the section at last. He read ahead while the class was speaking, trying to get in the mindset of what they were learning, sans the intro to the lesson that they must have gotten while he was gone.

What he picked up (which was basically half a lesson in a nutshell) was that they were discussing the concept of Child Labor across the world, as it erupted in various countries.

"…in Britain with the Industrial Revolution, and spread to America the same way the boom in the industries spread to America. The hiring of children was much more popular in Britain because of all the pauper children they had, while it was popular in America because of the economic depression the country was heading into."

Sure, whatever. Keisuke wasn't paying attention; he was reading the pages he had missed. Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul; he knew, but he would take care of the end of the lesson later, after he had figured out the beginning of the lesson. Problem was that the lesson was boring. Yeah, so it was about little kids working in mills and factories; he felt bad for them too, but that didn't mean that he wanted to sit there and read over the timelines of three separate countries and the effects they had upon the working class under the age of sixteen.

Keisuke was starting to lose focus and let his mind wander off, meaning that he was reading each line but understanding none of what it was saying. He stared thinking about the kids that must have been working in conditions so harsh that he couldn't even imagine them.

Then he realized that he wasn't learning anything. He realized that he wasn't paying attention, and that he was digging himself another hole in this class that he would have to work to fill in again. The immature side of his mind, the side that still remembered his high school mentality, kicked in saying, 'So what? This class isn't that important, it didn't matter much then, it doesn't matter much now…'

That was when Keisuke knew something was wrong. Keisuke knew that this class was that important, because this was the class that Ryosuke wanted to see him finally finish with a passing grade. This was the course that he had to prove that he could manage. His thoughts strayed to the thought of his older brother, as they had been all day. The work for Keisuke to pass this class would be nothing compared to what his brother had to deal with. Ry's classes were harder times three, Keisuke was sure of that, but still not only did Ryosuke pass all of his classes, he did exceptionally well in all of them to boot.

Keisuke often had to wondered how his brother could do it all. Anytime there was something that needed to be taken responsibility for, Ry would do it, no questions asked. Anytime there was a problem and Keisuke didn't know how to deal with it, all he had to do was mention it to Ryosuke, and he could consider the problem solved. Ry had never been known to shirk work, responsibilities, or to make excuses. He was like a machine, driving to the point that he was nearly perfect, managing an entire racing team and devising strategies for each member to become victorious, staying in school about 3 years longer than most people (if most people even go to college), and still taking care of both his and his younger brother's trials at home.

But anytime Keisuke would bring up how marveled he was over the fact that Ryosuke seemingly did everything, Ryosuke would change to subject to how marveled he was that Keisuke could do what he did and not have to think about it. Ryosuke never really acknowledged that the work was too much for him, or that he had a hard time coping with the work load. He instead said things like, "What I do now will ensure what I do in the future, so I have to make sure I do this right," or, "Taking these classes is the next logical step in furthering my education." Maybe he liked being a little modest; but still, even Ryosuke couldn't be that blind to all the outstanding things he did in the space of one day. If he wasn't at school, he was driving Akagi. If he wasn't driving Akagi, he was directing the Red Suns on how to drive down Akagi (and anywhere else, for that matter). If he wasn't with the team, he was making dinner, or writing his school papers, or getting a shower, or getting rest, or even - as seemed most plausible to Keisuke - miraculously doing all of the above at once.

What bothered Keisuke was that none of it seemed healthy. His brother worked at anything and everything at any hour of the day, resting very little. Were they not safely financially supported, Keisuke didn't doubt that Ryosuke would go out and get another job on top of everything he already did. Hell, Keisuke could just imagine his brother saying that he was going to get a full-time day job, while switching to night school, and solving the matter by giving up sleep altogether. The scary thing was that Ryosuke would do it, too.

'And he's not even paid for what he does…talk about child labor. He's been doing this for years now; even before college he was racing…he was most definitely a minor whose work interrupted his 'development'…look at his social life! He doesn't have one!'

Keisuke finally realized what it would be like living with a victim of child labor. They would work hard, not really acknowledge what they did, but never really get much compensation, or even many friends for that matter, either. Keisuke knew, because he practically lived one of them.

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Keisuke had the strong urge to leave classes in the middle, and go find that panda Eight Six, and race it right now. The thought that the driver was still in high school, or that he probably wouldn't win, didn't really occur to him. He just wanted to prove that he could beat it. Why? So that Ryosuke wouldn't be so obsessed with it. If Keisuke could beat that racer, ther would be no question over whether Ry could, and if Ry knew without a doubt that he could beat it, then it would cease to be interesting.

But Keisuke didn't go. Because he knew that, even if he did get to Akina, and even if he did manage to find that driver, there would be no way that he would ever be back before dark; in which case Ryosuke might actually start asking where he was and what he was doing. It might no be immediate, but Keisuke got the feeling that if he let his dinner get too cold, that Ryosuke might start getting worried.

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Being from a family involved in the medical world, Keisuke was actually very predisposed to Biology, Anatomy, and other medical science related fields. But strangely enough, the class that often is though to go hand in hand with Science - the Math - was never a strong point of Keisuke's. While it might be noted that Chemistry is more Math reliant that Biology, Keisuke's specialty was working with his hands, not his head, so either way, he never liked the numbers. The deepest Keisuke liked to get into numbers was when saying he drove a 'Mazda Enffin III, RX7 - FD3S, Type R.' See, that has numbers in it (though it ought to be noted that the car's full title was rarely used…).

And so, just as all the classes before, Keisuke was sitting in a class that he probably could have graduated by now, had he really wanted to. He was taking an Algebra 2 course; a course he was sure Ry had taken pre-tenth grade.

"And if 'x' equals negative five and four, which solution do you think the equation is asking for?" The professor had pointed to the final line in the simplified equation, where that very problem was written out on the board.

Someone in the back raised their hand with the answer. As soon as they got acknowledgement they said, "The four, because the original equation is 'x' equals the square root of twenty minus 'x.' While negative five and four both come out as solutions when both sides of the equation are squared, the four is the principle solution; it being the only solution that makes the original equation true."

"That's correct. Can anyone tell me what the simplified equation would look like if you substituted negative five in for 'x'?"

"The final equation would read: -5 equals 5, which is not true." (3)

"So what does that mean the negative five is?"

"The negative five is an extraneous solution, the four is the principle solution."

"Good. Moving on…"

Keisuke hadn't joined in on any of the discussion, instead he was concentrating on making sure that the entire equation and the majority of the explanation were copied down into his notes. He understood for the most part; principle solutions were things that every equation since Elementary school had had, only most people never cared to remember that they even had a specific name. Extraneous solutions on the other hand, were things that they had only been working with for two or three years now. The equation they had just walked through was actually a lower level equation, but the concept of Extraneous Solutions had seemed to need revisiting. So the example had been done simply so that that concept alone could be isolated, identified, and studied come test time.

'So there is a problem. It can't be solved just by looking at it, so both sides of the problem must be changed a little bit, so that the answers are easy to see. The problem is, that when the problem is changed, some of the answers don't make sense with the original problem.

…So why in the world did I think that racing would help? I don't really care about beating that Eight Six, not right now. I mean, yeah, I wanna get that kid back for last time, but that's not what's bothering me. What bothers me is that Ry's attention has pivoted. I changed the equation. On one side is me, and on the other is what I think is wrong. I changed by thinking that I wanted to beat the snot out of a high school kid just because. I changed what I thought was wrong by thinking that that Eight Six driver is the problem. Hell, that driver lives in Akina; he's miles away from me, he's not it.

It's Ryosuke and I that are creating problems. Racing won't solve this. Ry just wants to sit at that laptop and strategize all day, and I just want to sit at home and think of anything but that car. That's what the real problem is. Until Ryosuke races that car for himself, he's going to be interested in it. But then the problem arises, do I want to see Ryosuke battle that Eight Six? Who would win…?'

"I'm glad to see that you like my class enough to stay after the bell, though it would show me a greater appreciation if you would pay attention." Keisuke looked up from his thoughts to see his professor standing in front of the empty classroom, speaking solely to him. He hurriedly gathered his things and muttered a, "yes'm" on his way out.

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Keisuke got to his English class, surprisingly, on time. It was his last class of the day, and most usually, if he was late to any of his classes, it was this one.

He walked into the classroom, and took a seat, waiting for the class to begin. He had his notes, notebook, and his pen all out in front of him. He really thought he was prepared today. Then the lesson started, and he didn't really catch on too quickly.

"What is the opposite of a bear?" Was the first statement the professor made, as soon as the majority of the class was quiet, in their seats, and prepared for class. The students just looked at each other, hoping that the question was rhetorical, and that it was just a ruse to lead off today's lesson.

The question was in fact a lead off, but it was in no way rhetorical. The professor honestly wanted to know what they thought the opposite of a bear might be.

"Umm…a small aquatic rock, or something?" one of the girls asked hopefully. A few students smiled at the pathetic answer. The professor just smiled, but said nothing; still looking around for other opinions.

"My dog," came a sarcastic answer. Some students chuckled at this, but the look on the professor's face didn't change.

After a few more minutes of playing their silly guessing game, Keisuke started to get irritated. He wasn't a patient person, and he didn't like having to tolerate very much childishness. If there was some kind of point that the Prof. was trying to make, he seemed to have dropped the ball on this one. The class was only getting sillier, and Keisuke honestly doubted that anyone was really trying to take the question seriously. If they were thinking about the question, they had spent the whole time thinking and being quite, and that wasn't really helping matters.

Finally, Keisuke actually interacted with one of his classes for the first time today, by yelling out, "Anything that isn't a friggin' bear!" hoping that that was a broad enough category that it would cover all the other stupid guesses anyone cared to make.

Surprisingly, the professor looked up at this guess, and his smile began to get wider.

"You say that it's anything that isn't a bear, eh? What do you think one would call that?"

"Uh…not a bear?" Another sarcastic reply.

"Not a bear? So…a non-bear?" He was looking at Keisuke for the answer.

"…Sure. A non-bear it is."

After waiting a few seconds to let the dust of the conversation settle, and to give everyone time to digest what they had been talking about, the Professor started to actual lesson.

"Very good. The Opposite of a bear is a non-bear. Why? Because in nature, there is not one lone opposite to a bear. Yet, under the theory of Duality, everything supposedly has an opposite. To 'Yes' there is 'No.' To 'Right' there is --"

"Left!"

" --'Wrong.'

But who can tell me what the opposite of a fork is? Or how about an eyeball? There is no specific opposite for those objects, and yet, under the theory of duality, there must be one. So how does it work? Well, in order for such things as eyeballs, or bears, or forks to conform to that theory, such things as 'non-eyeballs,' or 'non-forks' must be introduced. Please," he paused, "take notes."

The rest of class went on in this manner, with the professor explaining more about Duality, and getting deeper into what exactly all of it meant. By the sound of it, Keisuke deducted that there would be a paper assigned at the end of class, but he wasn't too worried; the topic was pretty easy, and Ry would be willing to offer help if need be.

'That's right…Ryosuke would know this stuff…what doesn't he know? I bet if anyone asked him what the opposite of an eyeball was, he'd know. But then again, he knows everything, doesn't he? And if he doesn't know something, he knows how to find out. I can't imagine how it must be to know that much. To have that much responsibility. Yeah, people say that my driving techniques are getting more and more like Ry's - and I know for a fact that they actually are - but still…there are a lot of differences yet.

Ry is so…smart, and yet, here I am in these pathetic classes…I mean, Algebra 2? World Cultures? Those are classes he could probably pass in a week. And he's such a friggin' computer! I mean, I know that I should be used to it, and I am to some extent, but I still can't totally understand how he can identify the upgrades and modifications to a car, just by listening to it run and watching it race. He can analyze things that I wouldn't even think needed to be analyzed…again.

Ry can lead people…he can tell people to do things, and no matter what tone of voice he says it in, they know that it's not a suggestion. He doesn't talk much, and he doesn't often socialize much, but yet he knows exactly what to say around people or how to act in front of the team. I mean, look at me, struggling to gain Kenta's full confidence or to get him to listen to me, even after repeating myself, sometimes.

So, wait…does that make me Ry's opposite? Am I the 'non-Ryosuke?' No, that wouldn't be right. I already know that I'm getting more and more like him, driving-wise…and I may not be as analytical as Ry, but I'm getting better at not being so rash and hot-headed. And…maybe I'm not as book smart as my brother, but Hell, I'm in college, aren't I? I'm getting there, right? Ry put me in college, right?'

Keisuke wrote down his assignment (which was a paper, just as he had conjectured), and he headed to the parking lot. Class was over, and he had gathered much more from the class than the fact that the pole opposite of a noun is a 'non-noun.' Keisuke had gathered that he was not the pole opposite of his brother, and that was a much more important lesson.

--------

When Keisuke got home, Ry was sitting at his laptop in his room. Keisuke didn't check before he deduced that much, but the house was quiet and seemingly vacant, there was to be practice later that day, and the FC was parked outside. So Ry was in the house. There was nothing else that he could or would be doing, except running scenario after scenario on his little computer. By this time in the afternoon, Ry would be finished with his studies, and he was already beginning to toy with his computer for racing purposes.

Keisuke trudged up the stairs - bag still in hand - knocked on warning knock on the door and walked right into his brother's room. Without a word, Keisuke walked over to the bed and sat down, pulling his school books and assignments out in order to begin his homework. Ry looked over at his brother, not quite having seen such behavior - which had been quite common in the past - in a good week or so. Keisuke glanced up for a second, catching Ry's eyes…and promptly returned to locating the page number of the assignment for Math.

Seconds later, a small smile was on Ryosuke's lips as he asked, "So, how're your classes going?"

The smile was shared as his brother answered, "…Good."

AN: If you think that I messed up in one of the lessons, or that I made a mistake accuracy-wise or otherwise, please don't hesitiate to let me know, I would greatly appriciate it.

(1): The words on the board translate to the conjugation of the verb 'hope' with each of the subjective pronouns (in order: I, you, he, we, they, and you (plural), and you (formal)).

(2): Hoffen, Können, und Wollen: Hope, Can, and Want.

(3) You can check my math if you want to, and sorry if I lost anyone; I would have used symbols like the equals sign and such, but QuickEdit deletes such things.