It had been a week, and Eyes had yet to attend class again. Kousuke glanced beside him at the empty desk, wondering what could have happened, could it be because of him? After debating with himself for most of the afternoon, he finally decided to go and check on the blue eyed boy, just to make sure he was alright and straighten everything out.
The final bell of the day went off, and Kousuke, who had packed his bag earlier in class, jumped to his feet and hurried out of the room.
Ayumu caught up with him at the school's front gate, "Hey, what's the rush?" He panted, completely out of breath.
"No rush, I've just got a couple things to do before going home that's all." The red head said, glancing back to the brunette.
A brown eyebrow raised slightly, "Things to do? Like what?"
"I have to pick something up… from the store."
"You're a bad liar, Kousuke." Ayumu started, "You know what I think-"
"Not really." Kousuke inserted before the brunette could continue.
"Are you sure you're errand doesn't have something to do with a silver haired boy who hasn't been to school in a week?" Ayumu asked, taking a step closer.
Kousuke huffed, turning his back to the brunette, "I have no idea what you're talking about." He said, starting to walk again.
"Whatever you say, it's not like I care if you're worried about him."
"Just shut up, Narumi!" He hissed, storming down the street, leaving Ayumu alone. Ayumu only shrugged, turning toward home.
Kousuke's determination faded as he approached the house, he slowed his pace then stopped at the edge of the lawn. He contemplated turning around but decided that he would regret it if he did, that and if those blue eyes had spotted him from inside the house then leaving would make things even worse later.
He took a deep breath, stepping up the walkway and when he reached the door, he hesitated before knocking. Man, I must be getting soft, when did I start hesitating? I don't ever doubt myself, except… when it comes to this kid. Damn it! I must be getting soft. He thought, running a hand through his hair just as the door slowly opened.
Azure eyes appeared from the other side of the door, messy silver hair hung over most of his face, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, everyone was worried about you, so I figured that I'd come by and check up on you." Kousuke smiled brightly at the depressed looking figure.
The blue eyed boy narrowed his gaze in doubt, "Oh really, and why would you come by yourself if it was everyone else who was worried?"
"Look, can I come in so we can talk about this?"
"My brother isn't home, and I am not supposed to have anyone over when he's out…" He stopped, looking back into the house, "But maybe for a minute or two." He finished, opening the door all the way to let the other in.
Kousuke stepped inside; looking around, and 'quaint' was the only word the red head could think of to describe the inside of the little house. After a moment of admiring, he turned back to the silver haired boy. To Kousuke, it looked like Eyes had just gotten out of bed, messed hair, a sleepy look in his eyes, and the fact that he was wearing pajama pants and an old worn out t-shirt.
Eyes walked under the archway into the living room, expecting Kousuke to follow, to which he did.
"Nice place you got here." He said, admiring the art on the walls.
"Please get to the point of your visit. If my brother finds you here, he'll be very upset."
Kousuke stared at the boy's bare arms, "Does he get angry often?" He tossed out, assessing the other's reaction.
"My brother likes his rules to be obeyed, the way any other parent would be." Eyes said dryly, showing no emotion, revealing nothing to the red head.
"I see. So where are his parents?" Kousuke asked, avoiding eye contact.
"Is this the point of your visit?"
"Well no, but I thought-"
Eyes crossed his arms, "If you came only to talk, I can't, so if you wouldn't mind..." He said, aiming his gaze toward the front door.
"Okay okay. Look, I came to apologize for the other day, for what I said. I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's alright. I am not upset."
Kousuke huffed, "Yeah right, I'm not stupid ya know. You're not acting anything like the guy I was talking to at school." Azure eyes stared, unmoving at the red head, "Bottling it up isn't going to help, trust me I should know."
Both heads' turned, hearing the back door close, and when Kousuke looked back at Eyes, he found the boy frozen in sheer terror. Footsteps sounded in the kitchen, heading toward them, Eyes stood motionless, and he stared at the entrance to the kitchen, unable to even glance at the other. Soon, Kanone appeared in the doorway, he looked to Eyes then noticing Kousuke, turned to the red head and glared heavily.
"Eyes, what is he doing here?"
"He… he came to by to see how I was feeling." The terrified boy said quietly, keeping his eyes focused on the brunette.
"What are my rules about having people over?" He asked, slowly beginning to walk toward the smaller one.
"No guests while you are out."
"That's right, so what is he doing here?" Kanone asked again, smiling.
"It was only for a minute and he was just about to leave." Eyes stammered, as Kanone stopped in front of him. Olive met with azure as the brunette's smile faded slightly and his hand fisted at his side, then he struck the younger boy, knocking him to the floor.
"Hey! Leave him alone!" Kousuke yelled, gaining the attention of both.
"This is not your concern. Get out!" Kanone hissed, turning his gaze on the other.
"But you didn't have to hit him."
Olive eyes narrowed, "He belongs to me, and I can deal with him however I see fit." He said, approaching the red head.
Kousuke eyed the brunette as he took a step closer, he's not that big, and he can't be that strong and as Kanone walked into reach Kousuke hit him once in the face. The brunette staggered back a step, he then regained his balance and in one swift movement, grabbed Kousuke's shirt jabbing a fist into his stomach. His shirt was released as the red head dropped to the floor, the air forced from his lungs.
After his breathing evened out a bit, he looked up at the older man still standing over him; Kousuke's bright green eyes flashed red, "You bastard!" He hissed, charging the other as he tackled the brunette to the floor.
The two grappled on the carpeted floor for a while, Kousuke had the advantage with a few good hits to the other's face. Kanone struggled, striking the other square in the chin forcing sharp teeth to bite down on the soft bottom lip, then finally flipping the red head onto his back and straddling him, the brunette placed a hand over his opponent's neck and began to squeeze. Kousuke choked, grabbing Kanone's wrist with one hand and trying to punch with the other, which was quickly pinned to the floor by the man's free hand.
Kousuke's vision began to blur, his hearing became clouded, and when he thought he was going to pass out, "Stop it! You'll kill him!" A muffled voice screamed. Suddenly the hand was gone, and Kousuke gasped heavily for air, slowly rolling onto his side then pushing himself to his knees. Emerald eyes glanced over, seeing it had been Eyes, who had tackled his brother.
Kanone pushed Eyes off, then sat up, "Get out! If I ever catch you here again, I won't hesitate next time." He aimed his words at the red head, and then getting to his feet, left the room.
The two could hear his footsteps ascend the stairs. Eyes jumped to his feet, and rushed over to the red head, helping him climb to his. Once on his feet, Kousuke pushed out of Eyes' support, wiping the blood from his chin with the back of his hand. The red head stumbled over to the door he had entered earlier, stopping when he was close enough to use it as a brace, leaning his back against it.
Kousuke smiled, "I guess you won't have to worry about me harassing you about where you got those bruises anymore." He said, holding his stomach in pain at the slight laugh that escaped.
Eyes couldn't smile, "I'm sorry." He said sadly, "If it weren't-"
"Don't even start." Kousuke interrupted, taking his thumb, and gently wiping the blood from the corner of the other's pale lips, "I got myself into it. If anyone should be sorry, it's that good for nothing bastard upstairs."
After a moment of silence, Kousuke continued, "I'd better go before he decides to come back down and finish me off."
"Please… don't tell anyone about this." Eyes asked nervously.
Emerald eyes narrowed, "Why don't you just leave? Go tell someone about it, he doesn't have the right to do this to you."
"He's my brother. He's the only family I have; he loves me and wants to take care of me."
"The guy's brainwashed you with this bullshit, if he really loved you, he would never raise his hand to you!" Kousuke huffed, getting slightly angry again.
"But he does love me, it's just… I don't love him in the same way." Azure eyes widened, he then quickly covered his mouth.
"What are you talking about Eyes?" Kousuke asked, "What else is he doing to you? Don't tell me that he's-"
"No, it's nothing. You should leave though; he will be coming back down soon." Eyes said, urging the red head out.
"Fine, I'll go but we're going to talk about this tomorrow at school. You're going to be there right?" Kousuke asked. The silver haired boy nodded, holding the door open for the other.
"I'll see you tomorrow then." The older boy said, smiling.
"Yes, see you tomorrow."
The door closed behind Kousuke, and he began heading down the steps. Reaching the street, the red head glanced back feeling guilty for leaving Eyes alone with that bastard. Though there was nothing he could really do, Kanone was stronger then him, and he couldn't force Eyes to leave so until he decided on his own Kousuke could only protect him from afar, which of course was no help. He turned away, slowly and painfully walking home.
"What happened to you?!" Madoka asked, as Kousuke entered the house.
"It's no big deal, I just bit my lip."
"You've been getting into fights again, haven't you?" She continued, grabbing a cloth, running it under some cool water then pressing it on the cut.
"Oww… damn it that hurts!" Kousuke huffed, trying to pull away.
"Just hold it there." Madoka stated, dragging the red head to the bathroom. Sitting him on the toilet seat, she opened the medicine cabinet and began digging around, "I can't believe you, you promised me that you wouldn't fight anymore."
"It wasn't my fault, he started it." He said, standing.
"Sit! We're not done here."
He huffed, "I told you its nothing." He walked out of the bathroom and into his bedroom.
Kousuke stood in front of the mirror hanging on the wall of his room, "Damn it!" He muttered to himself, assessing the damage.
"So, did you hit him back?" A voice fluttered into the room.
"Huh?" The red head turned to look at the younger brother as he closed the door behind him.
"Did you hit him back?" Ayumu asked again.
Kousuke snorted, "It's not what you think."
"And what do I think?"
"You know as well as I do that he wouldn't hit anyone."
"I'm sure he would in self defense." Ayumu said, sitting on the bed, watching Kousuke in the mirror.
"Ha! I'm not so sure."
"So, if it wasn't Eyes then who was it?"
He turned, revealing his emerald eyes, "Why? Are you Madoka's informant?" He questioned the brunette.
"Madoka doesn't care who it was, all she wants is for you to stop fighting."
"It's like I told her, he started it. I was the one defending myself."
"And who is he?"
Kousuke moved to his desk, pulling the chair out and repositioning it so he was leaning on the back with his arms crossed, resting his head on his arms. He faced the brunette, "Does it really matter who it was?"
"It might."
"You sure are damn nosy, almost as bad as Hiyono." Kousuke snickered, then a pillow smacked him in the face, "Damn it Narumi!"
"You ass."
Emerald eyes narrowed, "So why do you really want to know?"
"Curious maybe." He said. Kousuke only raised an eyebrow at his response.
"If you must know, it was Kanone."
"What?! You got into a fight with Eyes' brother!" Ayumu stated shocked, sitting up from his slouching position on the bed.
"He started it."
"I don't think that's the best way to get on his good side, you know, beating up his brother and all."
Huffing, "What the hell are you talking about?" He asked, annoyed.
A smile danced on the brunette's lips, "You don't have to play dumb with me, I've known you long enough, I can tell you like him."
"What?!"
"It's completely obvious. You've never ever cared when anyone, from school or other wise, has been sick or away but suddenly this kid comes along and you get all defensive about him. You don't want anyone talking about him, bugging him or anything. Then he's not at school for a week and you go to check on him."
"That'snot true!"
Chocolate eyes rolled in their owner's head, "Sure, whatever you say. When you're done being in denial, you should tell him how you feel."
"I think that fever really did fry some brain cells, you're going crazy."
Ayumu stood, heading for the door, and placing his hand on the knob, glanced back, "You should at least think about it, I'm sure he would want to know. It's not like he's discreet about his feelings." The brunette said, opening the door then closing it after him.
Kousuke huffed, brushing off what Ayumu had said, opting for going to bed instead. He changed, flicking off the light then flopping down on his bed. He laid in the dark, staring at the ceiling and after a moment heard voices coming from the living room.
"He's 18 now, just let him do what he wants."
"Kiyotaka…"
"You can't stop him, Kousuke has never thought of you as his family and I'm afraid that he never will."
"But still… I have to try." Kousuke could hear the small sobs through the thin walls.
"If he wants to go out and get killed, there's nothing you can do about it, Madoka. He's a selfish, uncaring brat and I don't want to see him upset you anymore."
Kousuke could hear the venom in the man's voice; he sat up, not wanting to listen to that anymore. He climbed onto his knees, quietly opening the window above his bed. Having his room on the first floor had its advantages, easy escapes. It was at these times that he thanked the crazy person who designed this house, both his and Ayumu's rooms were on the main floor, while only the master bedroom was upstairs. Grabbing a shirt and pulling it on, he then jumped out the window. Kousuke crept around the side until he was away from the house and able to walk on the street.
He walked aimlessly, finding his way to the park, completely lost in thought. He continued on, stopping in front of the exact home of the person that kept running through his mind. Damn it all! Ayumu is wrong, I don't have feelings for him, there's no way. I can't, can I?
Kousuke stood, staring at the house for a while and then shivering, decided to head home again. He had lost track of time, he didn't know when he left and had no idea how long he had been standing outside of Eyes' house. Climbing back into his room, he slowly closed the window again.
The red head was about to crawl into bed when the bedroom light flickered on, "Huh?"
"Where did you go?"
"What do you want?"
"Answer my question."
Kousuke snorted, "It's none of your business, Kiyotaka. It's not like you care anyway."
"Madoka cares and I refuse to let you hurt her anymore."
"Yeah yeah, I heard you two talking. Next time you talk about someone you might want to do it somewhere they won't hear you."
"Since you heard me I don't have to explain it to you." Kiyotaka said, in the same monotone voice he'd always use when speaking with the red head, "So we're in agreement then, you're going to start behaving, and treating Madoka the way she deserves, or else the consequences will be harsh."
"You know what; I have to get up for school in the morning, so if you don't mind…get out."
"Alright, I'll leave." Kiyotaka said, turning off the light on his way out of the room.
Kousuke pulled his shirt off, whipping it at the door before crawling into bed, and turning over, "Fucking bastard." He whispered, closing his eyes and slowly drifting off.