A/N: Gaaah I wanted to write this about 2 weeks ago. I told myself I'd do a weekly update schedule over the weekends...and yeah, it didn't happen. SO MUCH STUFF'S GOING ON.

It doesn't help that the littlest things never fail to distract me. -sigh- Bo Burnham. You distract me. You and your amazing songs and comedy skits.

Also, thanks to all my readers so far :D I appreciate the reviews and favs! They motivate me!


A crack of thunder sounded over head as Keiichi entered his house again. The person in his arms was still unconscious as the brunette carefully set him down on the couch.

"Towels...I gotta dry him off, or he'll catch a cold..." Keiichi wasted no time in running up the stairs to his room. He quickly changed his own clothes and grabbed a spare set for the other. He looked to be about the same size as Keiichi. If anything, he was a few inches taller. At that moment, Keiichi didn't care.

Extra clothes in hand, Keiichi ran down the stairs, almost tripping once near the bottom. He caught himself before totally face planting and hit the ground running. He kicked up a rug as he turned a corner and landed in the bathroom. He caught himself on the sink and frantically looked around for a towel. He grabbed a beige one that was hanging on the rack closet to him. He tossed the article over his shoulder and rushed back into the living room. The blonde boy was still out cold. He hadn't moved from the spot Keiichi placed him.

The brunette stood over him for a minute, expecting him to awake any moment. He set the clothes and towel on the end table. When the stranger didn't wake in the three minutes Keiichi was there, the brunette took a few steps back and just watched. He watched the slow rise and fall of the blonde's chest. He glanced over the blonde's now calm features. It was bothering him. This guy...he reminded Keiichi of someone... The brunette wracked his brain but failed to come up with anything. Sighing, he leaned against the wall opposite the couch and continued to stare, lost in thought.

"Shit, what should I do? Call mom back and tell her I found this dying kid outside out house? ...She'd freak." Keiichi shook his head. "I could call the police. Yeah, that's what I'll do. They'll know what to do." Keiichi glanced over at the unconscious person laying on his couch again. He bit his lip.

"...Maybe I should dry him off first or something. I really don't want him dying of hypothermia on me..." Keiichi didn't even want to think of how badly that would suck. He walked back over to the end table and turned on the lamp that set there. He grabbed the towel and stared at the person below him. He moved to the side of the couch and got on his knees. He tried not to think of what he was getting ready to do, or it would just make it unnecessarily awkward.

"Geez...Yeah...this is awkward..." Keiichi thought regrettably. He took the towel and patted down the other's arms until they were seemingly dry. He sighed and softly patted the other's face, collecting all the droplets that had remained on his cheek and other sections of his face. More water dripped from his hair, causing more work for Keiichi.

"Dammit..." Keiichi cursed out loud, not bothering to keep his thoughts to himself anymore. It wasn't like anyone was listening.

Keiichi took the now damp towel to the blonde's dripping locks. He sighed angrily, not liking one bit of this. He placed the towel lightly over the other's hair and began to rub and massage it, the towel absorbing the water with ease. Keiichi wasn't sure how dry he should make his 'visitor's' hair, so he just kept working it. He was about to stop (after realizing that the towel was so damp it was probably making it all worse) when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Keiichi abruptly stopped what he was doing, throwing the towel over his shoulder, hearing it hit the wall behind him seconds later. All his concentration he had went to watching the blonde's face for any sign of consciousness. Keiichi didn't realize he was holding his breath until he suddenly felt the need to breathe.

Keiichi watched as the blonde's eyes slowly flickered open. Keiichi felt a pang of nervousness.

"Now what?"


The light was bright, he realized. It hurt to open his eyes. All it took was one look at the ceiling and he realized he wasn't at the Clinic. He sat up, confused. Where was he? What was going on? Was he still alive? He held out his hands and looked them over. He pinched the skin of his arm lightly, recoiling when he felt a sharp pain. He sure felt alive. Alive...

He involuntarily jumped up to a sitting position as memories flooded back to him. Adrenaline induced by fear rushed through his body. He could feel his heart beating in his head. He didn't even see the person kneeling beside him. He couldn't see anything. Everything was black. He needed to run. He had to get away. He couldn't stay here any longer. He couldn't.

He clutched his head and bent over in pain. It hurt. It hurt terribly. His jaw clenched as he pulled at his hair. Anything to distract him from the mental pain and fear he was feeling...

It was the hand that landed on his shoulder. That's what brought him back to reality. His breath was ragged and heavy as he stared at the brunette that had his hand on his shoulder. He stared at the other with wild eyes as he searched his brain for what was going on.

"Hey, are you okay? Can you hear me? I'm Keiichi. Please, um, let me help you."

So his name was Keiichi. What was he doing here? With this...Keiichi? He couldn't remember. All he could remember was running. Running from the Clinic.

That's right. He wasn't there anymore. He was okay. No need to run...

"Um, do you have a name?"

Name...Name...

He found himself clutching at his hair again. A strained noise arose from his throat as he struggled to remember. The grip on his shoulder tightened.

"Hey, hey! It's alright, it's alright if you can't remember or something! Don't hurt yourself!" Keiichi was yelling now. He could hear Keiichi yelling. His breath staggered as he waited for the pain to pass. He gasped and coughed and he was sure his head was going to explode. All energy he had before was being drained out of him with every passing second. A tired expression on his face, he sat back up and leaned against the back of the couch for support.

"Hey, a-are you alright? Hold on, um, I'll go call the police. I'm sure they'll help. Just stay right here."

Police. He stiffened. He reached out without thinking and grabbed Keiichi's shirt sleeve. Keiichi looked back at him, puzzled.

He shook his head no.

Keiichi stared at him curiously, as if deciding if he should listen or not. He could tell Keiichi was thinking hard. It showed on his face. He knew this...Keiichi...would be easy to read. Everything showed on his face. He was like a book.

Keiichi just stood there, still in thought. He gave a desperate squeeze on the shirt sleeve, hoping his message would get across. A semblance of a scowl fell over Keiichi's face.

He could feel his heart drop in his chest after seeing that look.

Keiichi appeared about ready to open his mouth to say something when another distraction occurred. There was ringing sound that traveled once throughout house. He stiffened, unsure of what to expect. He watched Keiichi's face to see how he was reacting. He didn't appear afraid. He appeared annoyed.


"Seriously? A visitor at this time of night? Who the hell could it be...?" Keiichi spoke to himself. He freed his arm from the others grasp and quietly walked over to the window. He peered through the blinds, even if it was too dark to see anything. As if on cue, a flash of lightning lit up the outside. Keiichi could make out the silhouettes of two cars and a group of people, all carrying umbrellas over their heads. When another bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, Keiichi's eyes were able to see what was on the side of the car.

It was the police.

"Shit...Um," He turned towards the blonde stranger who looked scared out of his mind. "You, stay here. I'm going to go answer the door."

They rang the doorbell again, much to Keiichi's annoyance.

"Coming, coming," He called out as he reached the door. He let out a fake yawn as he opened the door a crack, still not unlocking the chain. "Yeah?" A real, unintentional yawn came out this time, much to Keiichi's embarrassment.

"Ah, yes, you are Maebara-kun, correct?" An elderly and overweight man in suspenders asked. "My names Ooishi. I work for the police you see, and we were wondering if we could ask you a few questions."

"Shit. Shit shit shit shit." Keiichi thought over and over again. "Now could be the time to tell them about...him...but, he really seemed scared of them. Shit, what should I do?" His thoughts grew more desperate the more he thought. He knew he couldn't wait to long to reply. They'd only grow more suspicious.

"Isn't it a bit late for this? Can it wait?" Keiichi stretched and let out another yawn. "I was in the middle of a good dream you know."

"My apologies, but I'm afraid this really can't wait." Ooishi's voice grew more stern. "I only have a few questions to ask." After saying this, he turned towards the group of policemen behind him. "Kuma-chan, you stay here and the rest of you, go on ahead. I'll only be a moment. Keep looking."

Keiichi could vaguely see all but one of the group nod and rush off to their car. It started up much quieter than Keiichi expected and the headlights almost blinded him. He did his best to shield the rays with his arm as the car backed out of his drive and drove off virtually without a sound.

"Now then, Maebara-kun, may I ask what time you went to bed tonight?"

"That's kind of a weird question isn't it?" Keiichi asked, doing his best to swallow the nervous lump rising in his throat.

"Not at all. Now, your answer?" Ooishi pressed as 'Kuma-chan' got out a pad of paper and pencil.

Keiichi began to preform the best thinking act he could muster as he stared at the ceiling, seemingly in thought.

"Let's see...I'd say around 12 or 12:30." That wasn't entirely a lie. He had been planning on going to bed around the time.

"Have you gone outside at all between 11:30 and now?" Ooishi questioned further.

"Can't say I have." Keiichi lied automatically.

"I see...and you haven't happened to...see...any strange people running around have you? People not of this village?"

Keiichi let out a nervous laugh.

"Well, I've seen you. Other than that I..."

Keiichi paused as he drifted back into thought. What was he saying? Shouldn't he be telling these people about the mysterious boy? Not hiding it! Seconds ago he was going to call the police. And now, here they were. So why?

"Maebara-kun?"

Keiichi snapped back into reality. He appeared shocked for a mere second before he began laughing.

"Ah, sorry, I'm just really tired. No, I haven't seen anyone."

"Crap crap crap what am I doing? Lying like that! And to the police!"

"Hm...I see. Well, if anything suspicious happens, please, don't hesitate to let us know." Ooishi put on a smile as he turned to leave. "Let's go Kuma-chan. The night's still young."

Kuma-chan placed his notepad back into his pocket and wordlessly followed the other. Keiichi waved them bye and continued to watch them until they left. As soon as they were out of sight, the brunette slammed the door shut with a bang. He leaned against it and slid to the floor, his legs feeling like jelly. He hadn't realized how badly he'd been shaking.

He couldn't quite grasp for what reason he'd done that. There was no real explanation really...other than he had a gut feeling. A gut feeling that said those guys were the enemy. The blonde guy in there...he needed protecting, or so it seemed.

Keiichi's hands clenched into shaking fists.


A/N: Well, I ended up editing it. I suppose I'm satisfied. If I overlooked an error, feel free to point it out. The next update shouldn't take too long, so expect it soon!
Motivate me further with reviews :3