by yue 4.10.99

Yukihiro trudged slowly and aimlessly along the streets, the warden's
words still ringing in his head…  "Get real, boy!  This is a
_children's_ home.  Look at how old you already are - we can't take
you in anymore.  Besides, you were already over-age when you left last
year…  Go find a job or something…"
He ended up at the deserted clock tower and entered the gloomy
building.  Dumping his backpack, which contained all his worldly
possessions at this present moment in time, on the ground, he slumped
down dejectedly beside it.  
What was he going to do?  He didn't have any skills - unless you
counted cowering against a wall until danger passed.  Nor did he have
any qualifications, since he'd left the school in such a hurry, not
even waiting for the teacher to give him his testimonial.  But most
unfortunately of all, he didn't have anything remotely resembling
beauty.
And there lay the root of all his problems.  
Why hadn't he been born more kirei?  The question never struck him as
hard as it did now.  If he'd been prettier, his 'father' might have
paid more attention to him instead of sending him off to the home.  If
he'd been prettier, he wouldn't have been picked on all through his
childhood.  If he'd been prettier, he wouldn't have been beaten up on
an almost-daily basis since he started studying in St. Luna.  He might
even have gotten into the SC, he thought a little spitefully.  
And even if he'd been thrown out into the streets, he could find a
guy with little IQ but lots of money to spend on maintaining him -
_if_ he had been prettier. 
Of course, he could try going to one of those red-light districts
where dirty old men couldn't care less how a guy looked, as long as
they got a piece of his ass.  But… for some inexplicable reason,
whenever that option popped up in his mind, he shied away from it in
near, blind panic.
He could feel his breath beginning to hitch and he forced himself to
calm down.  Now was not the time to break down and cry.  He had to
figure out how to get on with his life.  But still, nothing came to
him.  Someone - anyone - please help me!! he cried in silent despair.
As if on cue, a voice floated over from further in the dark shadows
of the tower.  "Hey, are you okay?"
Yukihiro jumped a foot high, and scrambled around, grabbing his
backpack.  Looking around fearfully, he slowly backed away towards the
door.  Shit, he didn't know this place was…
The voice came again, and this time a figure clothed in white
followed it out of the darkness.  "I'm sorry if I scared you… I'm
waiting for someone, but I wanted to see him first before he could get
a glimpse of me, so I hid inside there," he explained, gesturing
towards the moldy interior of the tower.
The owner of the voice stepped fully into the light - and Yukihiro
took a large step back.  The boy was really too gorgeous!  His brown
hair, gilded to gold where the sun's rays caressed it, framed a
delicate face with dark enigmatic eyes.  Though he was rather pale,
Yukihiro could see a slight pink tint infusing the skin, like that of
a convalescent just recovering from a long illness.  He was dressed in
a long overcoat of some sort of white filmy stuff, making him look
positively ethereal, like a fairy elf from some other dimension.  
        But Yukihiro knew better than to trust such initial
impressions. He had learnt his lesson - it was infinitely safer to
stay away from such individuals.  
        He turned to leave.
        "Ano… please, could you stay for a while?"
        His steps faltered.  There was a note of insecurity and
longing in the voice, impossible to fake, that resonated with the
loneliness within him.  
        He faced the beautiful boy and held out his hand warily.  "I…
I'm Yukihiro…"
        A grin of relief broke across the boy's features.  He grasped
Yukihiro's hand, answering, "My name is Takeo."

***

Meanwhile, in one of the first-year classrooms of St. Luna, the
teacher droned on monotonously, the nodding of the students' heads in
sleep providing a rhythmic counterpoint.  However, in the far corner
of the room, there was one student still left upright.  
For once, Ino was not off in dreamland, but still paying no attention
to the teacher (miracles can only do so much ^_~).  He stared,
brooding, out of the window.  From where he sat, the view was that of
the Forbidden Garden, now more appropriately known as the Forbidden
Ruin.  He could see clearly the charred trunk of the tree where Ryu
had knelt that day, tears streaming from his eyes.
He had seemed so determined that he had to leave Sugi then.
I only hope it's for real…  Takuya's dubious voice drifted across
his mind, souring his memory of those delicate features firmed in
conviction.
He had woken up this morning to find his roommate still waiting for
him, uncharacteristically.  But he had dismissed this abnormal
behaviour with a shrug, pulling himself out of the bed and into his
uniform so he could go to class for more sleep.
"Inoran…"  He had raised an eyebrow at Takuya's grave tone.  "I know
you've been hanging around with the Vice-President -"
Ino glanced up at him questioningly.
"It's not a good thing to do this.  Especially when it seems like the
VP has been having a fight with the President."  Takuya grimaced. 
"Look, I'm sure you can take care of yourself, but I got this info
from a senior - it's not the first time they've had disagreements, and
when they do, it's the people around them who get hurt.  And when the
dust settles, the two of them are back together while the others are
left out in the cold."  He looked up at Ino urgently.  "I only hope
it's for real - the break this time.  I would hate to see you become a
pawn in their games with each other."
He had gazed at Takuya expressionlessly for a minute, while his
roommate squirmed, discomfited by his unblinking stare.  Then they had
left for class.
That had been an hour ago, and he was still staring out the window,
unable to fall asleep, and unable to erase the tiny niggling doubt
lodged in his heart by Takuya's words.

***

"How did you end up here?" Takeo asked curiously.
Yukihiro sighed, leaning back against the wall.  "I have nowhere else
to go.  I just left school, and the orphanage won't take me back.  And
I don't know what kind of work to look for…"  He began to feel
depressed all over again.  
While he had been talking to Takeo, he had felt his spirits lighten. 
Takeo was so inquisitive about everything, looking out at the world
with eyes that held a strange, child-like quality.  But he seemed to
have a problem with his facial expressions - although he got rather
easily excited, and Yukihiro could hear the emotion manifested in his
voice, his features remained smooth and unchanged, like a porcelain
doll.
So it felt like a wonderful achievement to crack that unconscious
mask the other boy was wearing and get him to smile a little.  With
every curve of Takeo's lips, Yukihiro's world seemed to become a
little brighter.  And they had been speaking about so many things,
jumping from one random topic to another.  Whenever Yukihiro said
something, Takeo would listen attentively before replying.  It was
truly a novelty to have someone pay proper attention to him, instead
of having half their minds focused elsewhere.
 he wondered.
"Yukihiro-kun, come back to the school with me?  Then I'll have a
friend there among all the strangers."  He looked at Yukihiro
imploringly.
"But… I already left," Yuki protested weakly.
Takeo's face fell.
"Don't you know anyone there?" 
"Well... yes, but we won't be studying together since he's in
different year--"
"Even if I agreed with you, I can't go back.  I'm not a student there
any longer."
"That isn't a problem - we can get my boyfriend to put your name back
in the records."
"Your boyfriend?!"
Takeo flushed.  "Yeah… um… that's why I'm here halfway through the
term.  He got me in by hacking into the school records," he explained.
"I'm supposed to meet him here at 12, but I was way too early.  Good
thing you were here, or I'd have gone crazy with nervousness."  He
smiled.
"What's so great about school anyway?" Yukihiro asked softly, more to
himself.  "If you're not powerful, or you don't have any backing,
you'll just end up as prey for the bullies..."
"Is that why you left?"
Flashes of pleasure and pain.  "Uh... yeah..."
"But at least you're strong and healthy enough to survive being
beaten.  I can't even walk fast without losing my breath."  There was
a wistful note in Takeo's voice.  "I never ever got to go to school."
"Then how come you're here?" Yukihiro asked.
For an instant, Yukihiro thought he saw cold calculation flash
through Takeo's eyes.  "I left home because I want to be with him --
no matter what."
"Who's this guy?"  Yukihiro's interest was piqued, he wanted to know
who this individual was that Takeo would be willing to risk his life
to be with.
"His name is Hisashi," Takeo replied, and his expression brightened. 
"And he's a second-year student at St. Luna..."
"Why do I think I hear a 'but'?" Yukihiro said suspiciously.
Takeo gave a sheepish grin.  "Ah... you see... I... I... um...
I-still-dunno-what-he-looks-like," he mumbled quickly.
"Huh??!!"  Yukihiro couldn't believe his ears.
"We've only been communicating through e-mail so far," Takeo
explained a little defensively.
"Then how can you be so sure you're in love with each other?"
Yukihiro asked, doubt evident in his tone.
"We just know."  He made no attempt to explain or defend his
conviction, just simply stated it.
While Yukihiro was still reeling from this discovery, Takeo suddenly
stiffened. "I think he's coming."  He lifted a hand to point into the
distance, where a figure with spiky white-and-blue hair was approaching.
As if he sensed their gazes upon him, Hisashi looked up.  When their
eyes met, the tension that had been hovering around Takeo all day
seemed to drain away.  Standing, he slowly walked up to meet him
halfway.

***

"And that will be all for today's announcements," Takuro, concluded,
closing his notebook and walking away from the mike.  He gave a brief
nod to Sugi as he passed, not saying anything.  But that was his way,
Sugi mused.  If it wasn't because he was obliged to make all the
announcements as General Secretary of the Council, nobody would ever
get to hear him speak at all.  How _did_ he ever get on the Council in
the first place then? Sugi wondered, searching back through his
memories to see if he could pick out any brilliant sayings that ever
fell from the golden lips of Takuro.
Oh, yeah, that's right, Sugi recollected.  Takuro became a Councillor
without having to say anything at all.  At that time, Sugi had been
quite attracted to his tall, muscular frame and quiet, reserved
demeanour.  Though after a while, Sugi lost interest before they ever
did anything serious.  But Takuro had remained in the Council, as one
of the few true friends and allies that were allowed to see beyond the
'perfect' mask.
Sugi strolled along after Takuro, glancing out lazily over the
railing to see the milling students below.  A flash of brown caught
his eye, because the colour seemed so beautiful, so like his own. 
Only one other person had hair that colour, and he couldn't possibly
be here.  Nah, Sugi shook his head slightly, it must have been a trick
of the light.
A slim black-haired figure crossed his path, then walked around him,
pointedly ignoring him.  The sudden surge of fury that incited
distracted his mind from further thoughts of hair that looked like his
own.

A couple of hours later, he was in the Council Room, in one of his
rare sessions of sorting and processing all the paperwork that he was
supposed to do as President.  Normally, around this time, he would
have been conducting one-to-one interviews with potential SC members,
but he'd changed his mind instead, since he had hit a dry spell
lately.  Actually, it was more a case of 'water everywhere, but not a
drop to drink'.  
A dozen pretty faces paraded across his mind, but he simply hadn't
felt like following up on the thought.  So he'd stopped forcing
himself on others altogether.  What was the point of having sex if the
other person enjoyed it far more than him?
Besides, he knew it would be any day now before Ryu capitulated and
came back.  In the beginning, he had felt uneasy, but now, as the
events played out in the old familiar pattern, he relaxed.  All he had
to do was sit back and be patient.  Ryu would return, one way or
another.
The sudden knock on the door made him jump slightly, and he glared at
the unknown offender on the other side of the polished wood, irritated
at his momentary loss of poise.  Who would be so idiotic as to
interrupt him while he was still halfway through his paperwork?  _No
one_, not even Ryu, was allowed to enter the Council Room when Sugi
was at work (y: I mean the serious kind :p).  People crept around
silently when they passed for fear of disturbing the President and
bringing his wrath down on them.
The door opened, and Takuro stuck his head in apologetically.
"Takuro, since I consider you to be in possession of slightly greater
intelligence than most of the pathetic excuses for students in this
school, I will let you give me a reason as to why I shouldn't kick you
out of the SC and the school altogether," he said, his eyes glinting
dangerously.  
If Takuro felt threatened, it did not show in his face.  "You have an
urgent phone call at the office," he explained, before shutting the
door again.
Sugi heard his footfalls fade down the corridor.  The wimps at the
office were probably too afraid to come themselves -- even if the call
was an emergency.  So they had to send Takuro to come get him instead. 
If they still had the presence of mind to do stunts like that, Sugi
thought, then it couldn't be that serious.  He settled back to finish
off the last piles of forms, requests, bribes and love/lust letters on
the table.

"What took you so long?"  The deep voice on the other end of the line
could still send shivers down his spine.
"Forgive me," Sugi replied mockingly.  "Had I known it was you, I
would have dropped everything to get here."
"Never mind, I have a little problem here at home..."
"Yes?"
"Your brother has run away."  The tone was so matter-of-fact, as if
he had just said it was going to rain.
"Excuse me?"
"There's nothing wrong with your hearing, I believe."
"But... but he's so weak!"
"Yes, we all thought so.  But the fact is, he's gone and your mother
-- sorry, your stepmother -- has become totally hysterical and
unreasonable.  So do me a favour and send him back, will you?"
"Why me?"  But even as he spoke, an inkling of something -- brown
hair flashing gold in the sun -- drifted past his mind.
"Apparently your brother headed for your school, so he might be in
the vicinity.  Keep a lookout, and send him back.  Then perhaps I can
finally regain some peace and quiet."  A trace of annoyance had
entered the voice.
"Yes, Father, I think I have an idea where he might be..."
"Really," his father replied indifferently.  "One of your
stepmother's incredible theories was that he ran off to join you at
school because you seduced him.  Did you?"
"No, of course not," Sugi retorted.  
"I see, but I doubt she'll believe that."  His father chuckled,
amused over some joke that only he was privy to.  "She's convinced
that you've seduced all the men in her life away from her."
"But, Father..."
"Hmm?"
"She was wrong, you know.  _You_ seduced _me_."
His father hung up, still laughing.

***

After getting Jun to check the school records to confirm his
suspicions, Sugi leisurely strolled over to the hostel block, where
the students' rooms were, deep in thought.
It was such unprecedented behaviour on his brother's part.  An image
of a frail child with a pathetically eager-to-please expression came
to mind.  His little stepbrother used to be so worshipful, following
Sugi around while he was home.  And when he got too exhausted from
walking around, his adoring eyes would still trail Sugi's figure.
But that, Sugi reasoned, had been years ago.  A few years apart could
have undone all the 'training' efforts Sugi had undertaken.
More importantly, Sugi wanted to see the guy who had managed to lure
his brother away from home.  According to Jun, the school database had
been hacked into and the records changed, but he had no idea how the
culprit had done it (y: obviously, how can jun be cleverer than
hisashi? :p).  A quick glance through this Hisashi's record showed
that he was something of a child genius, his IQ soaring way past 170. 
But he was so low-key that no one in the SC knew about him other than
a vague impression.
He could be a useful asset, Sugi thought, if he co-operated.  And if
he didn't, well, he hadn't come up against someone he couldn't dispose
of yet.  This Hisashi person wouldn't be an exception, but oh yes, he
would be a challenge.
Sugi picked up his pace.  This was going to be fun.

***

Hisashi was seriously pissed off.  It had taken him a week, despite
his genius, to realise that Takeo wanted to do _it_ as much as he
wanted to.  And it had taken him another week to convince himself that
he wouldn't ruin Takeo's health in the process.  Then, when they were
actually going to get down to having some fun, the interruptions
began.  If it was not another of his friends curious to see the new
beauty, it was that irritating Jiro from the Photographic Society
trying to snap pictures.  
Or it was that midget Yukihiro...  Hisashi asked himself again for
the nth time why the hell he had agreed to put Yukihiro back in
school.  It had to be an impulse of the moment -- or he was definitely
getting some degenerative brain disease like Alzheimer's.  But then,
Takeo liked the guy (y: it's just platonic lah - I learnt my lesson
from last time :p) and at least there was someone to keep him company
and look out for him when Hisashi himself wasn't around.  Even if it
seemed like Takeo would be doing more protecting than the other way
round.  Oh well, he could be sure Yukihiro wouldn't try to steal Takeo
away from him.  
So fine!  He had finally managed to throw every one of the irritating
intruders out of their room, and was caressing skin as smooth as a
rose's petals, getting high on that elusive scent of his lover's that
no amount of bathing would ever remove. 
And then...
'Knock! Knock!'
No!  This can't be happening.  Hisashi buried his face deeper into
Takeo's neck in denial, lightly nibbling along his collarbone.  He was
rewarded with a soft gasp of pleasure, and the small hands upon his
shoulders clutched him tighter.
But after a while...
'Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!"  The idiot outside wouldn't give up.
"Um... Hisashi-kun..."  Takeo's voice was thready, punctuated with
gasps and intakes of breaths whenever Hisashi hit another pleasure
point.  "Shouldn't we... see who... who's at the... door?...  Oh, god!
Do that again..."
......
The pounding on the door had become more frantic, as if the knocker
was about to break the door down.
"Damnit!!"  Hisashi tore himself away from Takeo with super-human
effort.  Jerking on a pair of pants, he stalked stiffly to the door
and flung it open, glaring at the hapless boy standing there.  "Look,
you bloody fxxking s.o.b.," he growled.  "I don't give a @%^$#^# what
you want, just get the hell away from us before I give you a
makeover."  
The boy raised his hands, trying to re-direct Hisashi's fury at an
arrogant figure lounging against the wall a distance away.  He glanced
where the boy was attempting to indicate, and the beautiful features
seemed vaguely familiar, as if he'd seen them somewhere before.  But
he was too irritated to try to remember.  Extending his glare to
include the other guy, he snapped curtly, "And I don't care who you
are, just stay away as well."  With that, he slammed the door, locking
it behind him as he returned to the bed.
Seeing Takeo's slim body stretched out before him channelled all his
previous rage into white-hot desire.  He swiftly took Takeo into his
arms.  "Damn!  I can't wait any longer," he murmured into the other
boy's ear, his hands stroking the soft, soft skin.  "Can I--"
"Yes... yes, you can," Takeo replied, the note of urgency also
present in his voice.  He shifted, spreading his legs wider so that
Hisashi lay between his thighs.
Drawing Takeo's legs around his waist, Hisashi positioned himself and
slowly entered, keeping his eyes on Takeo's expression to make sure he
didn't hurt him.  Takeo gasped, his grip on Hisashi's shoulders
tightening as he became accustomed to being stretched, but otherwise,
his features were drawn in pleasure, not pain.
Hisashi began to move with gentle thrusts, and soon they were rocking
against each other, gradually picking up the pace as they neared the
end, bodies arched in ecstasy as they were caught up and swept away to
a world where only the two of them existed.
After a while, Hisashi felt a hand stir, sifting through the strands
of his hair.  A wave of contentment engulfed him, and he smiled
against Takeo's neck, which was fast becoming the all-time favourite
place for his face to be (y: ^_~).
"Wow..."  The sense of awe in Takeo's voice did wonders for his ego. 
"That was... wow..."


"Are you done now?"  An icy voice intruded into their reverie,
shocking them apart.
"How did you--?!  What the hell do you think you're doing, breaking
into people's rooms like this?" Hisashi demanded, outraged.
"Hisashi-kun," Takeo spoke up, his fair face flushed, a slightly
embarrassed expression on his face.  "He's my brother."
Stunned, Hisashi looked from one bishounen to the other, and noted
the similarities, though the stranger's face was hardened with a proud
coldness.  Again, the sense of familiarity surfaced, as he gazed
further upon him.
"Do you mean," Hisashi said slowly, "that the President of the
Student Council is your brother?"
"I'm delighted that you finally deign to remember who I am," Sugi cut
in, his sarcastic tone indicating he was anything but.  "But that is
not my concern.  I want to speak privately with Takeo."
Hisashi was about to protest, but Takeo's hand on his arm stopped
him.  Reassured by the look on his lover's face, he dressed and left
the room, closing the door behind him.
The moment Hisashi was out of sight, the gentleness receded from
Takeo's features.  "You can cut the crap.  There's nothing you can say
to make me go back."  The expressionless mask was back in place.
"But what would your mother think?" 
"Do you care?" came back the retort.
Sugi shrugged negligently.  "Fine, suit yourself.  I've done my
part."  He lazily strolled to the bedside, and stretched out a hand to
tip up Takeo's face.  "But know this, dear brother…  Here, I reign
supreme.  It would not be good to make me care."
He walked to the door, but turned around before stepping over the
doorway.  "But truly, Takeo, it's so good to see you again."  There
was absolutely nothing in that last feral smile that could erase the
unease festering within Takeo.

***

Ryu settled back in his chair as TMR left, after giving his daily
report on Ino's movements.  So far everything was going along pretty
well.  Ino spent most of his spare time with him, and was still as
anti-social among his peers as ever.  From the looks of it, Ryu was
probably the person who was the closest to him, with the exception of
his brother J.
He smiled grimly to himself.  He would show Sugi yet…
"What was that all about?"  Ino's low voice came as a sudden shock,
and he jumped.
"God, Ino, you scared me," he replied, breathing a sigh of relief. 
"Please, knock before coming in the next time, will you?"
Ino continued as if Ryu had never spoke.  "Why is TMR following me
around?"
"What are you talking about?"  Ryu stood, rearranging the books and
papers on the table in front of him.
Ino merely remained silent, until Ryu was finally pressured to look
up at him.  
"Why are you being so friendly to me?"
The sudden change of topic threw Ryu off-balance.  "Huh?  Because…
well, because… I…"  The smooth excuses were stuck in his throat,
refusing to come out.
"Is this part of some plan to get your revenge on Sugi?"  
"…No!  Of course not!"  But the denial had come a split-second too
late.
Ino's eyes bored into his own, seeming to draw the truth out from
where he had buried it.  Then he slowly shook his head.  "You never
meant it all along.  Do you even want to be free of Sugi?"

***

He hadn't really moved, sitting there blankly staring as the shadows
lengthened.  That was how Sugi found him, much later after Ino had left.
Sugi crouched down beside him, so that their faces were level with
each other's.  Not saying a word, he leaned over, gently brushing
their lips together.
And all of a sudden he felt so tired.  Why had he thought he could do
it?
Wasn't he safest here?
His shoulders drooped in defeat as Sugi's arms enfolded him.  Closing
his eyes, he concentrated fiercely on the pleasure from Sugi's tongue
and fingers, trying to blot out the accusation from another's eyes.

***

"Hey, how're you doing?"  J's voice made Ino turn his head away from
the diamond-studded night.
Not waiting for an answer, J stretched out next to his brother on the
grass, his arms folded behind his head.  Together, they both regarded
the twinkling expanse over their heads.
J was the first to speak.  "I don't know if it's just me or all big
brothers feel like this," he let out a small sigh of regret, "somehow,
I missed out on you growing up.  I always see you as my little kid
brother - just that little step behind, never mixing well with the
crowd, needing my protection.  Then it just struck me the other day…" 
He looked over to see Ino staring back.  "You're not a kid anymore,
and when the hell did you stop being one?" he wondered.
Ino didn't answer, for he knew J wasn't expecting one, and they
lapsed back into the companionable silence.
"The world gets complicated when you're not a kid."  This time it was
Ino whose voice broke the quiet of the night.  
"Yeah…"  
The names of two others hung unsaid.  
"Look, Ino…"
"Hmm?"
"Whatever happens, I'm still here.  Remember that."  J gazed
resolutely at the stars, not meeting Ino's eyes.
"…J?"
"What?"
"I'll still be here too."

******************************************************