The stone corridor was dark and empty; the only sound being the echoing of running steps and the frantic breathing of a terrified figure as he ran towards the white moonlight at the end of the tunnel
*why do you run?* The cruel voice had an eerie tone to it and a shiver ran up the fleeing boy's spine –go away!— It was an exclamation of anger and desperation and for a moment the shadows flickered before they again began to close in
*what can you do to stop me?* the light at the end of the tunnel was fading as the thick fog began to close around the boy, blocking any hope of escape. There was nowhere left to run and the boy began to fall as the floor split and the shadows swallowed him up *vos, qui occisus est…you, who died*
"Sasuke!" Sasuke's eyes snapped open as he landed on the floor, Juugo too far away to do anything to stop his head from banging on the hard wooden surface. "Sasuke—" He lay still as Juugo hurried over, dazed from the impact.
"Are you alright?" the older teen crouched down and Sasuke paused a moment before sitting up slowly, wincing at the now double sized lump on the back of his head—why did he keep hitting that spot?
"Yeah…I'll be fine" he stood up and sat on the edge of his bed, wiping his sweaty palms on the legs of his dark pants "Are you sure? You were muttering in Latin when I came in and then you fell off your bed…" Juugo was so serious and Sasuke half-smiled, trying to shake the feeling in the pit of his stomach
"I'm sure…it's not like I've never hit my head before" he swallowed hard and Juugo's face relaxed as he smiled "sorry about that…"
Sasuke didn't reply as he clenched his teeth—the sick feeling had moved to his chest and was growing…The school doesn't have much time left…the thought sent icy chills up his spine and he shivered…
"Sasuke—" Juugo touched Sasuke's arm gently and Sasuke looked up quickly "is something else bothering you? You look troubled" his tone was soft and non-intrusive and for a moment Sasuke thought of telling him before he shook his head, he had no right to involve a person he'd just met in his problems, no matter how close they were becoming it wasn't worth Juugo possibly getting killed…or—
"It's nothing big, just…" he paused; just what? He didn't have an excuse, not a good one anyway "It's nothing" he finished the sentence lamely and Juugo smiled "that's good" he sounded genuinely relieved and Sasuke couldn't help but stare, had Juugo actually bought that or was he being courteous…either way, he was glad the subject had been dropped.
"I guess we should be going to sleep now…it's almost curfew" Juugo went to the lamp on the table and blew out the flame, plunging the room into darkness. "Goodnight" there was the rustling of sheets as the larger teen climbed into his bed and Sasuke murmured a reply as he moved to the middle of his own bed and leaned against the headboard, his gaze towards the window as silence fell in the room…if only everything could remain peaceful forever…
...
"Today we will talk about the difference between fables and truth" the culture and philosophy teacher was sitting casually on the front of his desk, his long legs stretched out in front of him and his hands on the edge of the polished wood "Can anyone give me a definition of either one?"
There was a silence in the class and the professor glanced at his manicured nails with a sigh "No one?" he paused for effect "Student participation gains points~" a smile was playing on his lips and several hands shot up "See? You do know" he clapped his hands together in mock joy and then pointed towards the back of the room "Juugo, will you tell me what fables are?"
All of the students with hands in the air lowered them slowly and turned to glare at Juugo, waiting for him to respond. "I—"
Sasuke watched as Juugo fidgeted under the glares of the students, wondering why the professor didn't stop them; didn't he understand how painful glares could be?
"Fables are stories based off of real events that were twisted until they only contain part truths…" it was a good answer and the nodded "Essentially; fables are lies" he stood and moved behind his desk, splaying his hands out in front of him "The lesson for today is actually about the difference between lies and truth, but since this school is riddles with fables I wanted to define those first" He paused as several of the students took notes "Now—Sasuke, will you define truth for this class?"
Sasuke shoved a hand in his pocket and tapped the back of his pencil on the edge of his desk, letting the question hang in the air as he contemplated responding "Truth is what it is" he spoke bluntly and several girls giggles quietly
"Truth; students, is reality" the Professor steepled his fingers as he straightened, "What we exist in is truth, the world doesn't lie"
Juugo's hand shot up "But how can you tell? I don't think everything in the world is as it appears to be"
The Professor gave a small toss of his head as he laughed "that's a flawed way of thinking…how can things you see not be true? You're seeing them after all. Do you not believe your own eyes?" a wave of snickering went through the classroom and Juugo hung his head, dropping pursuit of the debate.
"The world isn't just one dimension professor, there are always shadows…things that aren't what they appear to be" everyone turned as Sasuke spoke and the professor looked taken back "That's a deep theory—for a student" his tone was one of annoyance and Sasuke glanced away, his dark gaze meeting the clear blue sky through the window "it's truth" He spoke quietly and the Professor took a step forward "Again, an interesting theory for a student to have, but you are still young…you have a lot to learn in this world" He didn't bother to hide the emphasis on 'student' and Sasuke moved his gaze to meet the professor's as tension crackled in the air between them
*kill…destroy…* The aura hit Sasuke before the words reached his ears and he quickly turned to face Juugo. Sure enough, the older teen was hunched over his desk, his shoulders shaking as he tried to fight off the urge to kill, a fight that he was losing rapidly.
"Juugo, not here…" the professor rolled his eyes and Juugo glared as he stood up and knocked his chair into the desk behind him, causing the student to jump back in alarm
"Calm down" the teacher was backing away slowly, his hands in the air, ignoring the students as they began to panic
"Everyone…no, someone…dead…die" Juugo was moving around his desk towards the professor, his bloodshot eyes glaring furiously
"Juugo!" Sasuke stood up and Juugo whipped around, changing directions to go after his roommate "Mitescere" He spoke softly, not even flinching as Juugo grabbed his desk and fling it aside like it was nothing. "You, you'll be first!" Sasuke backed away slowly, trying to put distance between himself and Juugo while he tried to remember what had calmed Juugo that first day in the greenhouse.
"Mitescere" he stopped as his back hit the far wall of the classroom, effectively trapping him in the corner which only made Juugo laugh manically "Now, now you can die!" He sounded ecstatic and all the students turned away, hiding their faces in fear "Juugo—" Sasuke's tone was low and even "Please, clam down" it was as if his words had fallen to deaf ears and he put his arm up to block the hand that was being thrust towards his neck
"You can't stop me, no one can!" the rough hand seized Sasuke's forearm and Sasuke clenched his teeth as the same white hot electricity as the first time coursed through his body—what was happening?
As suddenly as it had started, Juugo's fit calmed and Sasuke collapsed against the wall as the electricity faded, breathing heavily as the orange haired one fell to his knees, the wild look in his eyes fading and beads of sweat forming on his face
"Are you boys alright?" The teacher was calling from behind the barricade of desks the students had created, too scared to go see for himself "Is it safe?"
Neither Sasuke nor Juugo responded as they both looked at each other—Sasuke confused and Juugo grateful "You okay?" Sasuke spoke quietly and Juugo nodded "are you?" his brown eyes were worried and Sasuke glanced at the arm Juugo had grabbed, self-consciously hiding the finger marks with his other hand "Yeah…" he gave a small nod and straitened slowly
"It's fine, you can come out now. ignavissimo coward" he muttered the last word under his breath and Juugo looked down to hide the smile that threatened to appear
"Of course" the professor stood up and straitened his suit "Very well done Sasuke, I'll give my commendation to the headmaster" he was watching Juugo cautiously as he spoke "students—please put your desks back in place, we have a discussion to finish"
The students moved quickly as they carried their desks to their proper places and sat down, staring all the while at the two boys that were standing in the corner, disgust and apprehension in their eyes.
It's a little bit of an awkward cut, but it was that or type another segment...