Arrival
Dorm Mate

"Just so you know, I didn't do that on purpose," Takashi said when they arrived at the garrison. "It hadn't even crossed my mind someone might mistake you for Keith. Well, sort of."

Ryo sent a glare his older brother's way, far from pleased at the rambling, which in his mind sounded like Takashi, despite what he said, had done that on purpose.

Takashi sighed, running fingers through his hair while his other hand gripped the steering wheel. "I mean, it was Lance we ran into, so it should have crossed my mind to some level that he'd react the way he did." The corner of his mouth twitched as the fingers in Takashi's hair tightened, his eyes closing in frustration. "Actually…"

"Can we just not?" Ryo said, looking out the window. "I can find my own way to my dorm accommodations." He reached a hand for the inside handle of the car door when he heard the lock mechanism click. He turned his head, eyes wide, looking at his older brother. "Takashi. Are you serious?"

"Can you let me finish?" Takashi said. "It's kind of important." Then, Takashi shook his head. "No, it is important. Something you should be aware of."

"What? What else do I need to be aware of?" Ryo felt a tightening in his throat as he fought to hold back yelling at his older brother.

"Lance will likely still insist you're Keith the next time he sees you."

"What?" Ryo's eyes blinked.

"Actually, I'm already imagining him wondering why there are two Keiths in front of him, but that should give you an idea," Takashi said, only to stop. He frowned. "No. He considers himself Keith's rival as well."

"Look. Don't expect me to acknowledge some ridiculous rivalry between the two of them," Ryo muttered, continuing to look out the window, hoping Takashi would let him go soon.

"Yeah. Neither does Keith," Takashi said, gripping the stirring wheel. "Lance is actually all talk, no game. He's actually waiting for a spot to open up in the main program so he can move up from cargo pilot."

Ryo sighed, finally turning to look at his older brother. "Oh, great. With me here, he's now going to have to wait for two spots to open up, so he'll have that to hold against me."

"Yeah, well," Takashi frowned. "If he does clue into the fact you're my younger brother, that you're Ryo Shirogane, you might actually have an easier time of it than Keith does."

"And why's that?"

Takashi winced like he did when the cadet named Lance ran up to them. There was an audible shudder. "Obsessive fanboy."

"Is that better or worse than obsessive fangirls?" Ryo asked, his eyes widening, curiosity getting the better of him.

Takashi blinked, then turned to look at Ryo. He swallowed. "I'd forgotten. But now that I think of it, how did you work that into your plans?"

"Told my agent I'm taking time off for personal reasons," Ryo sighed, looking out the window. "Thank you for the reminder you've not been a part of my life."

"You know I've been busy dealing with Keith, being the closest thing he has to a parent since dad died. And you weren't exactly keen on talking to me when you thought," Takashi started saying. "Look. I'm not blaming you, but you didn't exactly make things easier, either. Keith has his own set of feelings about the matter."

"What?" Ryo sat up. "I thought you weren't bringing up, well, you know."

"I didn't," Takashi said. "But Keith did overhear one side of our conversation a few times." He turned, clicking the button, then turned back. "I guess that's it on what I need to fill you in on. Or at least what I can think of, outside, of course, what I think Keith should tell you himself. Good luck."

"You're wishing me luck? What happened to being pissed off at me for going behind your back on this?" Ryo asked.

"Oh, I'm still pissed," Takashi said, his mouth pressed into a thin line. "I just know firsthand how difficult Keith can be." He frowned. "Oh. And as for your question. Girls being obsessive fangirls because they daydream about dating you is possibly a far more pleasant experience to an obsessive fanboy who daydreams of being you, but it might not be."

"Uh-huh," Ryo said, slipping from the car. "I still hate you, Takashi, and haven't forgiven you."

"I'll live with that. Particularly since Keith," Takashi took a deep breath. "Well, you'll find out soon enough."

"What happened…"

"How Keith feels about certain things is something Keith should tell you, not anybody else. And while I'm still pissed, I'm far more anxious about how Keith will react to meeting you, kiddo. It might not be as pleasant as you want."

"Yeah, but…"

"You can't play the twin card, remember? As much as you want to hit it off right away with him because he's your twin, it's not guaranteed even though I wish beyond anything and everything that it was." Takashi held up his own bag of food. "And be sure to eat."

"Yeah, yeah," Ryo said. "I'm not interested in you being a mother hen."

"Yeah, but you'll find you might have trouble with Keith if I don't act like a mother hen."

"You're full of yourself," Ryo said, closing the car door. Then, without caring whether Takashi heard him, he said, "I'm heading to my dorm now." He pulled out his PDA to navigate his way to the dorm, which, in turn, passed by a few students on his way, none of them bothering to inquire into the pretense of a new student, although a few of the girls glanced over as he passed, giggling as he did so. He shrugged it off until—

"Kagone," someone called out as Ryo continued by. "Are you feeling—hey, could you stop and talk to Kagone for once?"

Ryo stiffened, realizing—no, remembering—Keith used a different last name. He turned, frowning, eyes wide, wondering what the other teen was. He didn't say anything, instead letting out a deep breath, still feeling Takashi did what he'd done on purpose.

"Are you feeling better? After…" The teen stopped, frowning.

"Why are…"

"Why indeed," the teen said. "You're not Kagone, are you?"

Ryo felt the corner of his mouth twitch, his entire body stiffen.

The teen glanced down at his duffle bag. "You're the transfer student."

"And that's your business because?"

"Never mind," the person said, starting to walk away.

Ryo frowned, watching the other cadet walk away. "Why were you wanting to know if Keith was feeling better?"

The other teen stiffened, turned, and looked at him before saying, "I don't see how that is any of your business." Ryo clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in annoyance while glaring at the other teen, watching him start to turn, only for him to pause, turning to look at Ryo. "But should you be calling Kagone by his first name like that? You don't know him."

Anger—

There was a level of anger at what that person said, the irritation growing at the stranger talking about things he didn't know anything about. The other teen took a deep breath and said, "Look. I'm not going to say anymore, as I learned a long time ago, it's not fun to be on the receiving end of one of Kagone's outbursts."

"Yet you're fine talking about him behind his back."

"What I'm saying is I'm not going to get on Kagone's bad side by divulging his personal business to you. But," the teen narrowed his eyes. "I also recognized I crossed a line back then, and I honestly don't want to be that kind of person. Of course, I can only speak for myself and not the other cadets, including you, but if you're here to be antagonistic towards Kagone, don't expect comradeship from me."

"I'm," Ryo started saying as the other cadet turned to walk away. "Not." He wasn't sure if they heard him. Letting out a sigh, he headed for the dorm room to find—

Ryo frowned, noting how unlived the space looked, the only thing indicating another student lived in the dorm being the school supplies on one of the desks. Taking a deep breath, he plopped his duffle bag and bag of food onto the other desk before heading into the shared showers to glance around, noting the overly neat appearance of everything when the dorm's door opened.