Ok so (again) apologies for lateness. I thought being off school would prompt me to write, but apparently the opposite happened. It's not even a long chapter. Much sorry.

Also a note about Ruka: there are so few characters in NO.6 and I needed a schoolmate apart from Safu, so I stole a random name and made him blond so you could tell him apart from other characters, but then I realised I'd basically stolen Ruka Nogi from GA and mangled his personality up, and he was only supposed to appear once, but he accidentally became a recurring character... I know I personally dislike when authors include OCs for no reason, so I'm sorry if he annoys you.

This chapter is unedited because I wanted to post as soon as possible, so it's probably bad quality. Again apologies.

Sorry for hellishly long A/N. Disclaimer.

Love All, Trust A Few, Do Wrong To None

His eyes dart rapidly across the text in his hands, but he's not really seeing it. Cheap headphones pump music into his ears, but he's not really hearing it.

No, Nezumi's concentration is currently somewhere else entirely.

The library rustles and whispers around him; he can feel the steady quiet even over the well uh-uh baby I ain't got no plan droning on loudly in the background. It's distracting him from his reading – and nothing distracts Nezumi from Hamlet. It's one of the laws of the universe.

But it looks like Shion has once again broken his unspoken rules. What is up with that kid? He can't leave Nezumi alone, can't stop haunting him like a naïve, clingy ghost – even when he's not physically there. He plagues Nezumi's thoughts like a virus, taking over each brain cell one by one until Nezumi is left with just a skull full of Shion.

It's a scary thought.

The piano practice he accidentally overheard yesterday is still at the forefront of his mind. C'mon, he tells himself, it was just some kid playing the piano – skilfully, Nezumi must admit, but he was nothing special. He'd only heard a few minutes of it, but even in that short space of time Shion had managed to make many errors. He wasn't even looking at the sheet music in front of him.

… Actually, he hadn't been wearing his glasses, either. Nezumi blinks. Shion always wears his glasses. He can't see without them. Was that why he was making so many mistakes? He was playing from memory?

A hand touches his shoulder. Nezumi jumps so harshly that he shoots out of the chair, book landing with a heavy thump on the floor. "Shit!" he exclaims. "What was that for?"

The other student – who Nezumi belatedly notices is in his Algebra class – clears his throat meaningfully at the outburst, indicating the vaguely annoyed glares Nezumi is receiving from around the silent library.

The library.

Where you're not supposed to shout.

Or swear loudly.

"Sorry," the guy (Nezumi can't remember his name) drawls quietly, a blond eyebrow raised, clearly amused. "Didn't mean to startle you."

Nezumi rakes a hand through his hair in chagrin, feigning nonchalance as best he can as he readjusts the headphones tangled around his neck. He wanders back over to his table to salvage the upturned book from the floor. "Why're you even here?" he snaps without making eye contact. "Isn't class on?"

"I could say the same to you," the blond student quips, crossing his arms over his chest. "There's been a room change for Algebra this afternoon. I was told to find you to relay the information."

Nezumi looks up. "A room change? Why?"

The student snorts and shrugs. "Don't ask me. I'm just the messenger." He smirks. "You're awfully jumpy today, Mister Mystery."

Nezumi balks at the nickname. "Don't call me that. And I'm not jumpy."

"Why not? Practically the entire female population calls you that. Didn't you realise? Wow, you're pretty dense for someone who radiates an aura as cool as yours."

At this point, Nezumi isn't sure if the guy is trying to insult, tease or compliment him. Frankly, he doesn't care. "Just fuck off, okay? You relayed the message. Job done. Get lost."

Nezumi can feel the student staring incredulously at him, even when he brushes past irritably. His patience is thin today.

"You really are an asshole," the guy hisses eventually, tone pure malice. He shoots Nezumi a cold glare as he stalks out of the library, leaving the dark-haired man to check out the book in private.

"Thank you," Nezumi murmurs to the librarian, who looks at him with disapproval. Maybe he was a bit harsh; the guy was only doing him a favour.

No use dwelling on regrets, though. Nezumi has many things of a higher priority to do today. Like stress about his conflicting feelings for a certain white-haired, purple-eyed, irritatingly dense classmate.

"Um, Ruka," Shion calls timidly to the tall boy at his locker a few feet away. He moves to greet him.

Blonde hair sweeps through the air as said student turns, revealing the most intimidating scowl Shion has ever seen on Ruka's face. "What?" he growls.

"Oh," Shion mumbles, slightly taken aback. "Bad time. Sorry."

Ruka sighs with annoyance, slamming his locker shut. "Don't be so demure. It's annoying when someone asks for your attention and then immediately dismisses it without explaining himself."

Shion is silent for a moment. Now is obviously a really bad time; not that Ruka is bright and friendly on the best of days. He begins hesitantly, "I was just wondering if you'd seen Nezumi today. He didn't turn up to class. I wanted to talk to him about – about something."

Ruka barks out a clipped laugh. "Man, have I seen him today. Far more than I would've liked. Why would you even want to talk to that jerk?" he huffs, scratching idly at his throat. "He was in the library last I saw. And I really hope it's the last I'll see of that jackass," he snarls under his breath.

"Did…" Shion ventures cautiously, "Did something happen? With you and Nezumi?"

"No," he growls. "I did him a favour and he yelled at me. Rude, ungrateful little…" he trails off, jaw clenched.

Well, Nezumi isn't known for his benevolence, but to Shion this seems a little out of the ordinary. Is Nezumi on edge today? "I'm sure he didn't mean for you to get this upset."

"I'm not upset!" Ruka snarls – and then promptly shuts up as he realises just how defensive it sounded. He continues in a calmer tone, "I'm just annoyed. He should learn to be nice. That's all I'm saying."

Shion quirks an eyebrow. "Okay," he says agreeably. "I'll check in the library. Thanks for telling me about his bad mood." He grins widely as he leaves in some small attempt to cheer Ruka up.

So Nezumi isn't feeling too good. Why? Shion can't help wondering. His eyes widen slightly as a thought occurs to him, and he pushes his glasses up his nose anxiously. What if it was my fault somehow? Maybe I did or said something to offend him without realising… He had this reaction last time we argued. But we're not arguing.

Or are we? Shion thinks. He knows he's being a little paranoid, but Nezumi is so difficult to predict – he isn't sure what to think. What if we're arguing and I'm the only one who hasn't realised? No, wait, hang on. That's just ridiculous. I'd know if we were arguing, at the very least.

His hand is on the library door, and he slowly pushes it open. There's a chance Nezumi is still here.

But he's not.

A quick search of the library reveals no such man, and the librarian informs him that she instructed him to leave after he began to disturb the other students – Shion assumes that by this she means the 'heated discussion' (if it can be called that) between Nezumi and Ruka.

So he leaves the cozy room feeling just a little disheartened. Perhaps it would be best to give Nezumi some space for now; whether his current mood was due to Shion or not, he would probably not appreciate him pushing into his private life. It's decided then, he reassures himself firmly with a slight nod. He'll wait for Nezumi to approach him about it first.

Okay, so maybe Shion's plan isn't going as well as he'd hoped.

"I rarely see you alone these days," Safu comments from the doorway, pausing slightly in a silent request to enter Shion's personal space.

Shion shrugs. He gazes quietly at the young woman approaching him, armed with two hardback textbooks and a lunchbox.

Safu dumps her weapons of choice onto Shion's desk. He moves his own lunchbox out of the way as she pulls up a chair to sit opposite him in the abandoned classroom. She eyes him, calculating.

"What?" he asks, a little unnerved. "Don't look at me like that."

Safu makes a small noise of consideration, then disregards Shion entirely as she opens her Psychology textbook and begins to eat a salad wrap.

He stares. Is she honestly giving him the silent treatment? Oh great, so not only has he unwittingly annoyed Nezumi, but now Safu too.

Shion's sigh warms the air between them as he resigns himself to an unexplained silent lunchtime. He comforts himself with the thought that if he'd really angered Safu, she wouldn't have come to sit with him at all, and would have spent her lunchtime brooding in the cafeteria.

By the time either of them speaks, Shion is scraping the last few grains of cold rice out of the plastic tub.

"Mr. Knox gave you an A+."

Shion blinks, not at all expecting Safu to instigate conversation. "Excuse me?"

"I bumped into him in the corridor," she explains, although that sentence really doesn't explain anything. She rolls her eyes at Shion's continued expression of confusion and sets down her wrap. "He was very impressed with your most recent composition. He told me to inform you that he gave you top marks for it." There is a twitch of a smirk at her lips.

"Oh," Shion mumbles, stunned. "That's… great."

"You bet it is!" Safu exclaims enthusiastically. "Looks like my advice paid off, hm?"

Shion is confused. Again. "Your advice?"

"To write about Nezumi. I told you writing about him would make a far better piece of music than writing about leaves and flowers again. Looks like Mr. Knox agreed with me." Here Safu gives into the temptation, and her lips curl into a wide smirk.

Pale cheeks tinge pink. "Oh right," Shion murmurs through a self-conscious chuckle. "Thanks, I guess."

"I heard you practising it, actually," Safu says casually, ignoring Shion's shocked goldfish impression. "It was definitely your best work."

Shion is flattered. He knows Safu doesn't dish out compliments just to be nice. Her blunt honesty is both a blessing and a curse. "I wasn't too sure about the last bar… but if you say so," he laughs. "I trust you. Oh, remind me to thank Mr. Knox later," he adds as an afterthought.

"There's no need to thank him for giving you a good grade," Safu says, entertained by Shion's reaction. "You deserved it."

Shion's nose tickles as a puff of flour assaults him. "I'm back," he greets cheerfully.

Karan turns from the kitchen counter, practically emanating flour. "Oh hi, Shion. I didn't hear you come in." She dusts off her hands roughly on her apron and smiles brightly. "Do you want some coffee? It just finished brewing."

Shion would die for some coffee right now. "Yes please." He unceremoniously drops his bag beside the fridge, before opening it and pulling out a yoghurt. He rummages in the counter drawer for a spoon. "You don't usually bake at this hour."

"I know, but the bakery was so busy today – you wouldn't believe how many customers I had! And Ed called in sick this morning too, so there was no one to attend the counter while I baked replacements. After a few hours, I ran out of goods to sell, so I had to close early," Karan chortles and offers Shion a blue steaming mug of milky goodness. "How was your day? Not as hectic as mine, I hope."

Shion accepts the coffee gratefully. "It was okay. Nezumi was in another bad mood, but I don't think it was my fault this time," he jokes. "And I got an A+ in Music."

"You did?" Karan sounds pleasantly astounded, and she pauses in her kneading to cast Shion an impressed glance.

Shion nods with a shy smile. "Safu mentioned that it's the first top grade I've ever had in Music class."

Karan seems to consider Shion for a moment; her head is tilted slightly and her expression is thoughtful. The dough is left to rise and she moves to the sink, washing her hands thoroughly and grabbing a hand towel. "Who is it about?" she asks eventually, her tone thick with a sense of knowing Shion far too well for comfort.

"W-What?" Shion stammers, taken aback by the question that seemingly popped out of nowhere – although he knows his mother would never ask such a random question without reason. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hm." Karan throws the towel vaguely in the direction of the counter before leaning against it, crossing her arms and fixing Shion with her full attention. "So this amazing piece of music wasn't written with anybody in mind? No one at all?"

Shion opens his mouth. Then closes it. That glint in his mother's brown eyes is daunting – in much the same way Safu's earlier knowing smirk was.

Oh.

"Nezumi," Shion mumbles. "It's about Nezumi."

Karan sighs and rests a hand on Shion's shoulder, dipping her head to see the expression hidden by fluffy white locks. "Your confusing feelings about him?"

Shion nods from behind his hair and looks up to meet Karan's gentle gaze. "Yeah. It's kind of embarrassing," he says with an awkward chuckle. He runs a ghostly pale hand through snowy hair bashfully. "Safu suggested it."

"I see. Safu is a smart girl." Karan seems to hesitate for a moment. "How do you feel about Nezumi?"

Shion shrugs. "I don't know. I… I care about him, I guess. Like I care about you and Safu. But…" he trails off, punctuating the confusing explanation with a sigh. How does he feel about Nezumi? How is he supposed to answer a question he doesn't know the answer to? "I don't know," he repeats with a hint of frustration. "It's different, somehow. More intense."

Karan doesn't reply, but Shion can tell from her smile that she has a very good idea of what Shion himself has yet to figure out.

Shion is still thinking about it the next day. The conversation with his mother in the kitchen hit home and now he's questioning his every thought. Just that morning he woke up and immediately wondered if Nezumi would be in a better mood today. Is that a normal response to a friend? He can't remember ever thinking so much about Safu – and she's his best friend. Maybe he feels a little guilty about that. Safu has been around for years, since they were kids, and his friendship with her is solid and strong. He's known Nezumi for a matter of months and yet the mysterious man has already overtaken her in Shion's thoughts. It could be less of a friendship between them and more of an obsession – Shion hasn't noticed Nezumi responding the same way, no matter what Safu and his mother say. Nezumi isn't the type to form friendships… or whatever Shion's feelings are. He's too detached, too private.

Shion is hit with a sudden surge of sadness at the thought. The idea that Nezumi doesn't care for him, doesn't think about him, doesn't mind what happens to him… the feeling that clutches icily at Shion's heart is an unpleasant one.

But Shion's thoughts are cut short as the object of his current worries rounds the corner. Nezumi spots him and changes direction, heading towards the shorter man.

"Hey," Shion greets, trying for a chipper grin and a carefree wave.

Nezumi smiles half-heartedly in return. "Where were you yesterday?" Remnants of the previous day's foul mood are still clinging to him, and his voice is low and impatient.

"Uh... avoiding you," Shion answers frankly. He tries to look interested in the hairline cracks in the plaster as the pair stroll down the corridor, footsteps in sync. He isn't ready to face Nezumi so early in the morning.

"Avoiding me?" Nezumi echoes, incredulity lacing his tone. "Why?"

"Ruka told me you were in an awful mood so I thought I should give you some space," Shion murmurs, stumbling only slightly over his words. He doesn't look up to meet Nezumi's dubious gaze.

There's a tense pause. "Oh," Nezumi says at length. He sighs gruffly, reaching up to redo the ponytail which the wind whipped out of shape. He's silent for a while, but Shion can feel the words Nezumi is itching to say, so he walks quietly and patiently beside him.

"What's wrong?" Nezumi almost-snaps, hauling Shion around to look him in the eye. "You're acting really weirdly. Do I have toothpaste on my cheek or something?"

Shion meets his gaze – and his chest burns. His stomach drops to his toes and his lungs curl up and his jaw hangs slack. The cold grey eyes are molten steel as Nezumi stares, the carefully-concealed worry and concern which Shion had been afraid to find missing are clearly evident, and he is overwhelmed with a warm, tingly rush of relief and unwarranted giddiness.

Something in Shion clicks. As he gapes dumbly at Nezumi, he is bowled over by a simple realisation and wonders how in all hells he didn't notice it before.

I love him.

Shion becomes faintly aware that Nezumi is saying something. "Uh –" he blurts. "I'm sorry." He twists out of Nezumi's firm grip on his shoulders and lets his legs carry him far away from the hypnotising stare. He isn't sure whether he's walking or running – as long as he gets himself out of the danger zone.

"Hey!" Nezumi yells after him, the rough voice echoing irregularly down the curved hallway. "What the fuck is wrong with you? If I have to answer your questions, you have to answer mine!"

Shion halts. He calls over his shoulder as some sort of consolation, "I don't know, but when I figure it out I promise I'll tell you!"

He hears Nezumi swear loudly and scuff the baseboard with a reverberating boom.