Disclaimer: Legal Drug characters (c) CLAMP

Kakei awoke the next morning not to sunlight streaming in through the window- but to an annoying crow. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, making out a black crow-shaped blur on the roof of the clocktower and glaring at it. He then swung his legs over the side of the bed and walked to the dorm's small washroom. For the second time, he thanked Keio High School for having rich parents to donate money to them. The previous time was on his first night here, when he found that Keio High supplied each dorm with a large bedroom and two queen-sized beds to be put into the bedrooms. Score.

Even if it was on the small side, the truth was that not many boarding schools allowed the students to have their own washrooms. They had to share one huge washroom. But at the moment, Kakei really didn't feel like having to take more than five steps to walk into a shower. He let the warm spray ease him awake as he felt around for the soap and washcloth. Once he was clean and with a towel around his waist, he took careful steps back into the large bedroom. Everything was extremely blurry, and not because he had just woken up. He had yet to put his contacts in. He felt around for his duffel bag and rumaged inside it, relying on touch to find the small snap-open case that held his contacts. He felt something small and plastic and held it up to his eyes. A blurry shape filled his vision. One side of the shape was blue, and the other was white. The blonde stood. He would put his contacts in first, so he could see properly.

He used the bathroom's mirror and slipped his contacts in easily, then went to change. With his improved vision, he saw that someone was occupying the second bed in the room. His eyes widened. What- Oh. His new roommate. Kurome Saiga. The guy who had helped him out a couple times, apparently. The blonde tilted his head at the lump under the covers. It was a very large lump. Mammoth. The mammoth lump suddenly revealed a hand flopping out from beneath the comforter accompanied by a sleepy groan. Kakei blinked, then remembered his state of dress. He coloured and hurried to get dressed, pulling on the standard uniform: dark slacks, Oxford shirt, dark loafers, and a dark tie. Kakei ditched the tie in favour of the navy blue fleece jacket they were allowed to wear as an alternative to the blazer. Also, if you wore the fleece, you didn't have to wear a tie. Kakei disliked ties. At his old school, a classmate had pretended to use one as a noose on him...

"Takeshi, 'time is't?" Saiga mumbled, startling Kakei out of his violent reminiscences. He rolled over to face the centre of the room. Before he even knew what he was doing, Kakei broke out into a grin. He almost laughed. Saiga slept with his shades on. That amused him.

Takeshi was probably Saiga's old roommate, Kakei mused. Remembering Saiga's question, he glanced at the clocktower. He would never have to wear a watch, apparently. "7:29."

Saiga pushed himself up and mussed up his hair, yawning. He stayed sitting up, yet immobile, for a moment, then put one foot on the floor. A minute later, he put the second one down. Kakei watched, amused. Saiga was not a morning person, apparently.

"What did you get into a fight about last night?" Saiga asked clearly.

"What?" Kakei looked at him, but only saw himself in those reflective lenses.

"Don't play dumb. You didn't get that bruise on your cheek and that bump on your head from falling down," Saiga retorted.

Kakei touched two fingers tentatively to his cheekbone and applied slight pressure. He winced. Apparently he did have a bruise. He rubbed the back of his head, finding the bump there without much trouble. It needed ice.

"Well?"

"I don't see how it is any of your business," Kakei said.

"You're my roommate. It becomes my business when I find you unconscious, slumped against the door, about to have your face smashed in, you idiot!" Saiga growled, getting to his feet. Even wearing only flannel pajama pants, he was ominous. Kakei looked away from him, lest he be yelled at for even seeing his bare chest.

"That's where you're wrong. I'll deal with it. You needn't get involved. Why do you care? Just leave me alone." Kakei turned, picked up his briefcase, and walked to the door.

"So arrogant. What will you tell your teachers when they ask about your injuries?" Saiga demanded.

Kakei's hand paused on the doorknob. "I'll tell them I fell down." He left.

Saiga glared after him. He grabbed a pillow and hurled it at the door. It struck the wood with a loud smack and slid down.

Why did he care?

He stalked to the shower and turned it on hot, as hot as it could go. Why was he getting into the kid's business? He'd be the first to tell himself to just stay out and leave him alone. Saiga wasn't one to nose into others' business unless it concerned him. But.

...But maybe he cared because he'd been in Reigan's- Kakei's shoes. Or a pair that looked a lot like them. Saiga wasn't deaf. He had heard the ugly things the kids had said in the cafeteria, and he had heard the rumors of a new student that was a flit. He wondered if he really was, though, or if kids just called Kakei that because he was pretty, rather than handsome. Kakei was pretty, there was no denying it. About five-seven, with ash blonde hair cut asymetrically that was very silky to the touch, Saiga had discovered when he carried Kakei inside the night before. Pale and lithe, he was prettier than some of the girls at Keio. And far more easier to talk to, in the few times Saiga had spoken with him. Girls were fluttery and never said what they meant or meant what they said. They giggled incessantly and always had to be in groups, because on their own they weren't confidant enough to even greet a guy. But when in a group, they could whisper sadistically, gossip shamelessly, and just be awful to be around. Sure, Kakei lied, but at least he didn't lie about lying.

That brought Saiga to a halt. 'Lie about lying'? He was looking into this way too much. He finished tying the laces on his loafers and yanked on the dark blue blazer. He shook his head, clearing it. He was just being stupid, thinking about things he shouldn't. Thinking about people he shouldn't... like his cute roommate. Getting into things he shouldn't. But then, that had always been a guilty pleasure of his. He walked out. He would think about this later.

---

Kakei flipped through the pages of the extensive English dictionary. So many words, he thought mildly. He could handle it. The academic part of school was not a problem for him. It was the student body that he clashed with. He looked around for a comfortable niche to sit in and spotted a couch with a familiar-looking lump on it. He walked over to look down at Saiga dozing. The blonde sat at the far end of the couch in the small portion of space that Saiga didn't cover with his six feet of bulk.

"You are very lazy," Kakei told Saiga with a hint of a smile. He pushed his fair hair out of his eyes and skimmed the pages of the dictionary.

"Sleeping's healthy for you." Saiga surprised Kakei by answering.

"An excuse for not having to do anything for hours."

"Now you're getting it," Saiga chuckled.

"What a lazy ass," Kakei scoffed.

Saiga laughed outright. Kakei rolled his eyes.

"Someone's cranky," Saiga said.

"I am not."

"Loosen up, boy." Saiga rearranged himself on the couch, his head near Kakei's end. He looked up at Kakei, blocking the blonde's view of the dictionary. Kakei gave him a look, and Saiga smirked. Then, to all appearances, he went to sleep, his head pillowed on the open dictionary. Kakei froze and glanced around to see if anyone was in the near vicinity. Finding that no one was, he left Saiga where he was. He was waiting for Saiga to move, to get up off his lap, and fast. After a few minutes of silently sweating, Kakei wondered if he really had fallen asleep. Kakei had thought he was joking. After a few minutes, though, he shook the brunet's shoulder.

"Er, Kurome-san?"

"It's Saiga, you 'tard."

Kakei rolled his eyes. "Kakei for me, then." He watched as Saiga shifted, seeking the perfect position. Finally he shoved the dictionary out of Kakei's hands and laid back down with his head in the blonde's lap. Kakei froze yet again, his eyes wide. He forced his expression to normal and retrieved the dictionary, holding it off to the side, not really paying attention. He lost track of the time alternating between looking out the window and checking to see if Saiga showed any signs of life. All thoughts of english homework had been long forgotten. At one point, he saw Makoto Aki walk over, followed by a group of four or five more guys. Kakei felt heat rise in his neck and face, but couldn't exactly move Saiga.

"Kakei-kun," Makoto nodded. A smile touched his lips. Kakei noticed it didn't reach his eyes.

"Makoto-san," Kakei acknowledged. Makoto glanced at Saiga, then looked only at Kakei. His friends stared at the both of them.

"Can you follow me for a moment? It won't take much of your time," Makoto smiled.

"Sure." Kakei quick-thinkingly replaced his lap with a spare couch cushion. Saiga didn't stir. As they left the library, Kakei noticed they walked in an odd formation. Makoto at the front, no surprise there. But Kakei in the middle, with Makoto's friends surrounding him on all sides...? Odd. He was led to an empty classroom. One of Makoto's friends locked the door. Kakei looked around, a frown creasing his forehead.

"Why are we-" Makoto punched him in the chest. Kakei coughed, his eyes wide. From wide, they narrowed dramatically at Makoto. "What are you doing?"

Makoto's face was twisted in a hateful expression. He shoved the smaller boy to the ground. "So you were having a cute moment with your boyfriend?" He sneered, ignoring Kakei's question. The other guys moved around Kakei in an ominous circle. Kakei froze, then stood, looking up to meet Makoto's eyes. He knew he should have pushed Saiga away. It would be all over the school, now, and the situation would get worse. It was all Kakei's fault. He dropped his head. Makoto took the opportunity to slam his fist up under Kakei's jaw.

"We don't need any fags at this school," he said as he struck. Kakei choked and coughed, rubbing his jaw as he stumbled back. He felt around in his mouth, and was relieved when he found he hadn't bitten off his tongue. Someone kicked him square in the back. He stumbled forward, and when he took another step, pushed off, lunging forward and punching Makoto's nose. Makoto clapped a hand over his nose, which had started pouring blood. He glared at Kakei and charged him, slamming him into a table. Kakei gasped, all the air driven out of him. One boy yanked his head back by his loose, fair hair. Kakei grit his teeth, wincing as his head was forced back on his neck. He grabbed his scalp as he was dragged -by his hair- back to the centre of the room. He dug his nails into his captor's hand, especially in between the veins on the underside of his wrist. He yowled and let go. Another boy picked up where he left off, though, pulling Kakei's hair.

They spun him around, laughing, and someone grabbed his arms, holding them behind him. All around him, Kakei heard the other boys jeering, taunting, and saw them casting dark and disgusted looks at him. They took turns giving him blows. Makoto watched, smirking. He didn't join in; he was busy staunching the flow of his bloody nose. He still had to pay Kakei back for that particular embaressment.

Kakei recieved many new injuries to add to the growing list. A black eye, split lip, bruises up and down his arms, and he was almost positive he had bruised a couple ribs, if not broken them. After one punch to the cheek, he turned to the side and spat a glob of blood onto the floor. His lips were bright red from the remaining blood, constrasting sharply with his ghostly pale face. The one holding his arms behind his back had stepped away; no one was even needed to restrain Kakei. His eyes were glazing over, and he had started to dodge the blows less and less, until at last it was all he could do to stay standing. When at last he fell and made no move to get up, Makoto blew the whistle.

"Come on." He jerked his head towards the closet used to store teaching materials. It was mostly empty space. He and his corhorts were going to drag Kakei to it, until they found only one of them needed to carry the faggot; he was that light. All of them laughed at that. They dumped the semi-conscious youth in the closet and closed the door. They shoved a bunch of desks against it. There was no way he'd get out. They laughed hatefully. Stupid flit. He deserves it. They wondered if he was stupid enough to cry while he was in there. Makoto had a fun time envisioning the pale boy huddled against the corner in the pitch-black of the closet and weeping. At the same time, it wasn't fun, because it was pitiful that they shared the same gender with that faggot. He didn't look like a guy. He was pale, he was pretty, he was frail, he had silky, wispy hair. He couldn't fight, was short, he was delicate, looked like a girl, was too curious for his own damned good, and wasn't smart.

They were wrong. Yes, he knew he was pale, borderline-anemically so. Yes, he looked very feminine, a curse. Yes, he was curious about almost anything he came into contact with. Yes, he couldn't really fight. But. Kakei was smart. But, more than that, he was clever. And quick-witted. He had slumped in the closet as they tossed him in like a sack of vegetables. After that, they had nothing to do, so they left. He waited, counting to one-hundred in English. Only then did he try to get out. He tried to open the closet, but the desks were pushed up against it. Kakei had heard the legs scrape against the floor. He shoved the door with his shoulder, concentrating all his strength on that one point. He hit it again and again, but it wouldn't give. He slid to the floor and braced his feet against it. He kicked once, twice, three times. Sweat beaded on his temples. He kicked, panting. His kicks began to lose strength. He noticed, and shoved more energy into them. There was no option of failure in this. He would break out of here, and that was that. He slammed his feet into the door. The air inside the closet heated up gradually. As the temperature rose, Kakei began to feel gnawings of panic. Humans were not made for living in closets. Soon he would be breathing his own carbon-dioxide. His kicks became more erratic. He took a quick break, drawing his knees up under his chin, coughing and panting at the same time.

He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. He was exhausted... Just a bit longer... He could go back to trying to get out after a nap... No. Kakei kicked the door. He could do this. He would do this. He shifted, moving for the best leverage, and counted to three.

One.

Two.

Kakei brought his feet back as far as he could away from the door, shifting his weight one last time.

Three.

He slammed the heels of his feet as hard as could against the door, as fast as he could. He heard a few somethings scrape along the floor outside. Kakei got to his feet, adrenaline coursing through him. He braced his shoulder once more against the door and shoved. He pushed the desks away from the door a foot. More than enough. He didn't need it open all the way, just a crack. He slipped through and climbed on top of the tables to get out to the middle of the classroom. From there he bolted, sprinting back to the library. He found the area of the library where he and Saiga had been.

The lighting had changed. How much time had passed? He came to the couch and stopped short. It was empty. The cushion was just as he had left it, but Saiga was not there. Kakei had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't from the bruises he had gotten. Saiga probably wasn't happy when he woke up to find Kakei had ditched him. The blonde turned and began walking back to the dorm.

As he was crossing the courtyard, he heard someone call his name. He turned to see Saiga running toward him, looking pissed off. Kakei stopped mid-step, but kept walking, staring straight ahead. A large hand grabbed his shoulder, the one he had used to ram the closet door countless times and, fittingly, it now had countless bruises. Or was it one large bruise...? He debated the correct phrasing as he held his shoulder, gasping at the pain.

Saiga looked at him. Looked at the bruises that dotted his arms like freckles where you could see through the rips in his Oxford shirt. Looked at the black eye, the bloody lips, the ashen colour of his face, the way he held himself, as if one more step would make him fall apart at the seams.

"Who- or what- happened to you?" He fought to keep his voice calm.

Kakei took a deep, shuddering breath. He stood straighter. Squared his shoulders, although that caused him a wince of pain. "I fell down," he said evenly. He met Saiga's eyes.

Asshole, how can he be so casual about it, thought Saiga murderously. He wanted to kill whoever had done this. Whoever had marred the flawless youth. And yet, Kakei was still standing. Saiga had to smile at that. It was probably taking all he had, to keep from falling down. How cute, to think he could take care of himself.

"Do you go looking for trouble? I have to tell you, you don't look like you could handle it. Maybe you're a masochist."

"I am not. Sadist, perhaps, but not a masochist."

"Whatever. Come on, I'll carry you."

Kakei took a step back. "You're joking." He glanced around at the scattering of students hanging out in the courtyard. Saiga caught the hint.

"No, I'm not joking. You're beat."

"I do not need someone to carry me. I can get back to the dorm on my own. Thank you." He turned and began walking away. Saiga followed, amused. He walked casually alongside the blonde, waiting for him to collapse. He watched Kakei's face, studying the delicate features. Kakei stared straight ahead, defiantly refusing to meet his eyes. Saiga smirked.

Kakei made it all the way back to the dorm, shockingly enough. Saiga was stunned. He watched as Kakei turned the key in the lock and opened the door. One step into the dorm, Kakei dropped like a rock. At the last second, he seemed to remember that he had to stop himself from falling completely, and put a hand out. It didn't help much. His body thumped against the carpet, and he made no move to get up.

Saiga started laughing. Really hard. He knew that this was completely not the time, but it was just too funny. He chuckled as he gently lifted the youth into his arms, cradling him against his chest. Kakei didn't even move. He was out like a light. Saiga smiled one-sidedly at his unconscious form. Kakei was such a cold smartass when he was awake, but when he was asleep, he looked extremely prone. Saiga wondered if anyone else had ever seen the Kakei he was looking at right now.

As he pulled the covers around the blonde's small form and got into bed beside him, he guessed probably not.

Author's Hype:
I've noticed that I end each chapter with an 'ending', rather than a cliff-hanger. I sometimes do cliffhangers, to keep the readers interested, but on this fic I haven't done any yet. They seem to end just fine on their own.
Be happy, readers of 216. XD I've put out this chapter faster than I have with AE, my other ongoing fanfic series. This is a pretty long chapter. That's good, right? I always like reading long chapters. As long as they're not one of those chapters that has the whole series there, right in that one chapter, and it's like 20,000 words long and you have to scroll a mile. Gah.
Oh, by the way, do Kakei and Saiga seem in-character? Thoughts? I made Kakei purposefully different than how he acts in Legal Drug, because he's younger, and obviously less sure of himself and more inexperienced. Saiga is mostly the same because he went through what Kakei is going through all before, and has established a solid sense of self earlier than Kakei.

À tout à l'heure-