The morning played out much the same as every other school morning, Ayumu waking Kousuke, the red head missing breakfast and then making the brunette late for school.
Emerald eyes closed as he slouched lower in his desk, "Don't worry Ayumu, we're only five minutes late today." He said, smirking at the other, only to receive a glare in return.
Just as Kousuke was getting comfortable, there was a knock at the classroom door. He glanced over as it opened and standing in the doorway was Eyes, bowing, the silver haired boy entered and quickly hurried to his desk. He sat down, and then dropped his head into his arms that were crossed on his desk.
"Rough morning?" Hiyono asked, twirling around in her chair. Eyes only nodded still hiding his face.
Eyes spent most of the morning with his head hidden in his arms and when he did finally lift his head again, the bell had rung; and only their group was left in the classroom.
Hiyono gasped, "What happened to you?" She asked, reaching to brush the silver bangs away.
He pulled out of her reach, "It's nothing, I just slipped climbing the stairs last night." He said, though Kousuke raised an eyebrow at the boy's story. After seeing the bruises on his arms, Kousuke was sure that the black eye was far from an accident.
"You should be more careful next time." Rio warned smiling, "Come on, let's go. I'm hungry."
Up on the roof top, the conversation remained light, and left Eyes to his thoughts. He sat on a cement ledge, leaning back on the chain fence, nibbling on his lunch while absently rubbing the newest bruise on his arm. I barely had the door closed before… he was so mad last night. He normally doesn't hit my face, he wouldn't even tell me why.
"Hey Eyes, is something wrong? Does your arm hurt?" Hiyono asked, "Here let me see." She reached for his jacket, beginning to push it up his arm.
"No, it's fine." He said, struggling with her. The last thing he wanted to do was try to explain the bruises on his arms.
Kousuke huffed, "Jeez Hiyono, just leave the kid alone, will ya?" All eyes turned to stare at the red head.
"Excuse me? Kousuke, are you actually sticking up for Eyes?" Ryouko asked, standing, and headed toward him.
"No, I'm just tired of listening to them, that's all." He stated dryly, crimson eyes narrowed, unsure but stopped and sat again.
Hiyono let go of Eyes, and crawled across the concrete back to her half eaten lunch. Kousuke rolled his eyes, landing them on the silver haired boy, who glanced over. Azure locked with emerald for a moment and Kousuke could see the thanks in those blue orbs. Eyes smiled slightly to the red head, and to his surprise he received a small smirk in return.
After a minute of silence, the conversation picked up again, continuing like nothing had happened, until the bell rang and they slowly headed back to class.
In the afternoon, they spent their time in the library working on the project with the rest of their class. The three didn't talk but got straight to work and even Kousuke helped slightly.
The day ended with nothing else happening, Eyes went home right after school. Kousuke and Ayumu walked home with Hiyono, Rio and Sayoko, Ryouko had track practice so she wasn't able to work on the project after school. The three girls parted, leaving Kousuke and Ayumu alone for the rest of their walk. They were silent the whole way, lost in their thoughts. When they arrived home, Kiyotaka was seated on the couch, reading one of the many books from the shelf in the living room.
"Brother, what are you doing home so early? And where's Madoka?" Ayumu asked as he slipped off his shoes, and placed his bag down against the wall.
"I left early, but Madoka was called on a case. She won't be home until late." The elder Narumi said, without lifting his eyes off the pages of the book.
"So when do you want me to start supper then?"
"I don't care, whenever suits you." He stated with a shrug. Ayumu sighed, walking into the kitchen. Kousuke dropped his stuff in its usual spot, looked at Kiyotaka on the couch, and decided to spend the time until supper in his room instead.
The rest of the school week passed in much the same manner, they worked on the project in the afternoons, and Eyes even went over to their house on Saturday. On Sunday, Kousuke spent the day in bed, only getting up to eat, Ayumu tried to get him to help with the grocery shopping but with no luck. Sunday ended with the four of them watching a movie, unfortunately for the guys, Madoka picked the movie and it was a chick flick.
Morning rolled around, and a knock to Kousuke's door woke his peaceful dreaming. He heard the door scrap across the floor, "Its morning, time to get up." The voice said.
Kousuke turned over and tossed a pillow at the figure in the doorway, and a moment later the pillow returned hitting him in the head, "What the hell?" He asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
"I suggest you not do that again." Kiyotaka said, "And if you don't want to be late for school, you might want to start getting ready."
"Kiyotaka? Where's Ayumu?" Kousuke sat up, looking around.
"He has a fever. He's not going to school today." He finished, leaving the door open.
Kousuke ripped the blankets off, standing up and stormed down the hall to Ayumu's room. He swung the bedroom door open, "Ayumu, get up!"
"Kousuke, what are you doing?" Madoka asked, "Ayumu is sick, he's not going to school today."
"He's faking it, look at him!"
Madoka rose to her feet, "Kousuke, he has a fever of a hundred and two, he's not faking it. Now get out and get ready for school." She said sternly, in that cop voice she has, and Kousuke knew what was good for him.
Kousuke slowly made his way down the street, hearing pounding footsteps behind him, he turned to find Hiyono running up to him.
"Good morning Kousuke." She said cheerfully, "Where's Ayumu this fine morning? Don't tell me he left you behind."
Emerald eyes glared at the smiling blonde, "No, sick."
"He's sick?! But Ayumu never gets sick. Did you poison him?" She teased, placing a hand on her hip and tilted her head slightly.
"No." He paused, "Why would I? I need him to work on the project. Now I'm stuck working on it with the new kid." He said, over emphasizing his sigh. Hiyono only giggled at his frustration.
They walked together, Hiyono making small talk the whole way. When they arrived at the school, the two found their group under the oak tree.
"Hey, where's Ayumu?" Rio asked, but Kousuke noted that everyone was curious.
"He's sick." Hiyono answered for the red head, "He has a fever and everything."
"Aww… poor guy." Ryouko said. Kousuke rolled his eyes, getting comfortable in his usual spot under the large oak.
Eyes watched out the window as the vehicle rolled to a stop in front of the school's gate. A hand touched his thigh lightly, "Is something wrong?"
Eyes shook his head turning to the other, "No, everything is fine." He said, forcing a smile. The hand rubbed his thigh for a moment before squeezing slightly, then removing itself from his leg. Eyes opened the passenger side door and exited the vehicle.
Once outside, he waved slightly, watching the car pull away and out of sight. He breathed a heavy sigh, and then headed onto the school grounds. He found Kousuke and the others under the large tree in the corner of the grassy area. He raised an eyebrow upon reaching the group, but didn't ask about the missing brunette. The bell rang shortly there after, signaling to the students that class was about to begin.
"Good morning." Ms. Sasaki said, smiling as her students filed into the classroom. A few 'good mornings' from some were her reply.
After everyone had been seated and attendance taken, Ms. Sasaki stood from her desk, "There has been a change of plans today; Mr. Shibuya has been called away this morning so gym class will be postponed until this afternoon. So it's off to the library to work on your projects."
There was some quiet whispering about the change of plans but all the students gathered their bags and slowly headed out of the classroom toward the library. Kousuke waited until the room was almost empty, then grabbed his bag and followed Eyes out of the class. Eyes turned right, heading down the hall when something grabbed the scruff of his jacket. He looked back, finding Kousuke pulling him in the opposite direction.
"But isn't the library this way?" Eyes asked almost certain, for that's where all the other students went.
Kousuke shook his head, "It is, but we're not going to the library." He said, continuing to pull the silver haired boy backwards. Eyes turned around and his jacket was released, and it was then that he realized where they were heading, the roof.
"So why aren't we going to the library? We always went before." Eyes asked hesitantly.
Kousuke sighed, as he dropped his bag, and then sat down on the concrete, "We only went because Ayumu made us, remember? He's such a browner." He said, shaking his head at the thought.
"Oh." Eyes sat across from the red head and began pulling his books from his bag. Kousuke leaned back against the cement ledge and closed his eyes, letting Eyes work on the project.
Time passed slowly, and it made Eyes uncomfortable being alone with Kousuke. Azure eyes glanced up, seeing the red head's eyes closed, seemingly asleep but he couldn't be sure. Thoughts and memories of the past flooded his mind, making it hard for Eyes to concentrate. He wondered if Kousuke had truly forgotten or if it was just a ruse he was playing because he was still holding a grudge.
An emerald eye opened, seeing those blue orbs staring intently at him but yet looking through him at the same time. Kousuke cleared his throat, gaining the sliver haired boy's attention, "Is something the matter?" He asked.
Eyes shook his head, embarrassed for gawking, "No, sorry. I was just thinking."
"I hope it was about the project."
Eyes looked down at the blank pages that he had yet to write anything on; a blush appeared on his face and he shook his head again.
Kousuke placed his thumb and middle finger on the bridge of his nose as if an intense pain suddenly appeared there, then sighed, "Do I even want to know what you were thinking about?" He asked, a little frustrated.
The color grew darker as Eyes fiddled with the papers he was staring at, all the images from his past came rapidly pouring back to him. Something snapped inside Eyes and in one swift movement he was across the small gap between them with his arms wrapped tightly around the red head's waist.
Kousuke sat motionless, staring at the silver hair covering his chest and for a brief instant he hugged back. Realizing what he was doing, he quickly gathered up what control he had left and pushed the boy off of him, "What the hell are you doing?" He yelled.
Eyes had stumbled backwards, landing on his ass. He looked up at Kousuke, who was now standing, "You really don't remember do you?" Eyes asked timidly.
Now confused and angry, Kousuke turned toward the roof door, "I don't know what you're talking about." He said, "I knew this was a bad idea." He added under his breath.
"I still have nightmares, you know." Eyes said in a hurt voice.
Kousuke glanced back, raising an eyebrow at the statement, "Yeah… and?"
"Did you suppress everything that happened while you were at the orphanage?" He blurted out, tears settled at the corners of his eyes waiting to be released.
Kousuke whipped back around to him, rage flaring in those emerald orbs, "What did Ayumu tell you?" He demanded, teeth clenched tightly together.
Azure eyes looked down at the ground of the roof top, "I guess I really wasn't that important to you then, if you can't even keep such a simple promise as remembering me."
Kousuke stopped mid thought; memories came rushing back to him, nightmares, silver and blue, and a promise. Kousuke shook the images from his mind, he was not going to let this get to him, and he turned, walking to the door. He gripped the doorknob tightly, letting his rage out, when a soft tug pulled at his jacket sleeve.
"Don't go, please." The quiet voice asked, "I'm sorry. You know I wanted to, I even tried to reason with them but they wouldn't listen."
Kousuke sighed, "What are you talking about now?"
"That night, I begged the nuns to let me wake you but they wouldn't let me. The family who had adopted me said that they wanted to take me home that night and not wait for morning. I asked them to let me say 'goodbye' to you… it's just… I remember once when you told me that you were afraid of being abandoned again and I promised but I did… I'm sorry." Eyes finished, as the tears fell, landing on his hand and sleeve.
Kousuke's grip on the door handle loosened, then his fingers slipped from the now warm surface, and he let his arm hang limply at his side. He let out another sigh, "We better get something done on the project or Ayumu will kill me for slacking while he was sick." The red head said, pulling out of the boy's touch and heading back to his seat.
Kousuke got comfortable again; then he reached into his bag, and was pulling books out, when he felt a warm body lean up next to his. He glanced over, seeing Eyes sitting beside him. Kousuke was about to push him off, when the sliver haired boy sighed in contentment, and catching a glimpse of his face, Kousuke just didn't have the heart to upset him anymore right now.
"I still don't get it." Kousuke sighed, raking a hand through his spiky red hair.
Eyes shook his head, "It's easy, you just have to write it like this." He said, elegantly jotting a few bars on the sheet music.
"Not really, now math is easy, just simple equations. Math is like playing cards, counting numbers, that's easy stuff."
Eyes raised an eyebrow, unable to wrap his head around all those numbers, finding that it doesn't flow very nicely. The red head smirked at the look on the other's face. The two had worked on the project for a good hour, getting more then enough done in Kousuke's mind, and had decided to change topics for a bit. Even though Kousuke wasn't in band and didn't play an instrument, Eyes thought it would be fun to try to teach the emerald eyed boy to write piano music, but it ended up being harder then expected. They had remained pretty much in the same position as before, but Kousuke had stretched his one leg out, and Eyes still leaned against the other's side.
Kousuke pointed to one of the notes, "But I don't get how this works?"
"Well, it's different on other instruments but on the piano-" Eyes was cut off when the roof door suddenly opened, and the two looked up to see Ryouko, Hiyono, Rio and Sayoko come through the open door.
Ryouko's mouth dropped as she and the others gawked at the two sitting on the roof. Kousuke never let anyone get close to him, let alone let someone actually lean against him.
"Kousuke…" Ryouko finally said, finding her voice, "What's going on?"
"The new kid is teaching me to write piano music, it's kinda cool." He said, and then realized what everyone was staring at. Eyes noticed too, lowering his gaze to the ground, and sitting up slightly as to not be leaning on the other anymore.
The four girls continued in, finding spots to sit near them, with confused looks still on the two.
Kousuke checked his watch, "It's lunch already, I didn't even hear the bell." He said, reaching into his bag to find only a simple sandwich. "Damn it, I forgot Kiyotaka made my lunch today."
Rio laughed, "Poor boy, no gourmet lunch for you today? Must suck having your personal servant sick huh?"
"You're lucky you're a girl." Kousuke threatened, messing up her pig tails.
"Stop it Kousuke! You're messing my hair."
"That's the point, pipsqueak." He laughed, as her small hands tried to pry his off her head.
To Kousuke, Rio was like the little sister that you never wanted but got anyway, and the only way to make it bearable for yourself is if you bug the hell out of her.
"You're a jerk!" Rio screamed, after finally getting Kousuke's hand off of her head, she then began to try and fix the mess that he had made. The red head laughed again, being quite proud of his work, he then dug into his lunch.
Silence covered the group for the rest of the time, and it seemed awkward to Eyes, he kind of wanted to explain to the girls what they had seen but wasn't sure how and Kousuke had obviously brushed it off as nothing, so he left it. Finally, the bell rang and one by one they heading down the stairs back to class.
Gym had been boring; basketball wasn't any fun for Kousuke, especially because he could never get the ball in the basket. It's even worse when a shorty like Rio could show him up.
Once again, Kousuke's big mouth had gotten him into trouble and had to do laps around the gym, and finishing his last lap continued his jog straight to the showers. Having to normally do laps after gym class, Kousuke usually had the place to himself, which was fine with him. He headed for his locker, grabbing a towel on the way by; he opened the door and found his shampoo and soap, then headed off to the showers.
Hearing running water as he entered the shower area, he looked around finding one other person still there. Kousuke shrugged, and went about his business. The red head showered quickly, and after wrapping the towel around his waist, headed back out toward the lockers. Kousuke turned when he heard footsteps behind him, and froze when he saw the figure appear.
"Wow, that must have been a long shower, or are you just waiting for me now?" Kousuke said to the azure eyes staring at him. Emerald eyes glanced to the boy's arms, and seeing that not only are the bruises from before still there but there are new ones covering his arms, Kousuke even noted a couple around the rib cage area and his eyes narrowed at the sight. Eyes noticed where the other was looking and continued on to his locker to get dressed.
"So," Kousuke began, turning and following the blue eyed boy, "Are you going to tell me where you're getting those bruises from this time?"
Eyes remained silent, opening his locker and immediately pulled a shirt over his head, effectively covering most of the bruises. Kousuke sighed; he couldn't force the boy to tell him, but he figured that Eyes would open up enough to tell him eventually. He went back to his locker, and began to change as well, thinking of what could be going on with the new kid. When both were done, they headed out of the showers and off to class together.