by yue 6.12.99

Ino made his zombie-like way through the halls and corridors to his
classroom, still not totally awake as usual.
"Isn't it a little late for a first-year student to still be
loitering out here?"
Ino's steps slowed almost to a halt at the lazy voice that held just
a tinge of malice.  Then deliberately, he began to move on.  But the
next words froze him and dragged the sleep from him completely.
"Are you still not feeling well?" Sugi inquired with mock concern as
he pushed away from the doorway he was leaning against, and strolled
leisurely toward him.  "But you look so much better than when I saw
you last."  He crowded Ino against the wall, running the back of his
hand down one smooth, pale cheek.
"Hmm… you are remarkably good-looking as well.  How did you ever slip
past my notice?" Sugi mused as he ran his eyes over the expressionless
features before him that looked like they were carved from a glacier.
For long moments, Ino remained silent, until finally he raised his
head, and stared directly at him.  The utter revulsion in his eyes hit
Sugi full-force, and he took a small step back, unprepared for such a
reaction.
"My brother and I didn't come here to be pawns or prey in your
foolish games, nor do we want to be.  Go find some other idiot who's
willing to take part in whatever your pathetic, twisted mind can come
up with, and stay the hell away from us."
He walked away, oblivious of the unadulterated hate that had gathered
in Sugi's gaze.

***

Sugi entered the Student's Council room and shut the door gently,
before furiously sweeping everything off the table top and every other
available surface.  Inoran… who the hell did he think he was?!
Try as he might, Sugi was unable to wipe away the image of those icy
eyes filled with disgust.  Disgust!!!  His pride was severely stung. 
Never had anyone ever looked at him like that - there had been
wariness, fear, even utter terror, but it was always mixed with some
sort of awe.
The insult was unforgivable.
He threw himself into his chair behind the desk, closing his eyes to
calm down and slow the pounding of the blood rushing through his
veins.  Gradually, his expression smoothed out, returning to its
customary mask of arrogance.
Inoran thought he was pathetic, did he?  He had no idea what the word
actually meant… yet.  Sugi smiled ferally as he leaned back in his
chair.
The game had just acquired another facet. 

***

The school compound was bustling with people as the students from
various clubs and societies went about, setting up their booths and
pasting fliers, stringing decorations, and occasionally getting into a
squabble over their territories.
"Okay, look man!" Jiro was almost shouting.  "I saw this pillar
first, so I get to put the Photography Club's fliers here!!"  So
saying, he slapped the sheet of paper on the pillar at eye level,
where it was guaranteed to get the most attention.
"Oh, so why didn't you come here the moment you saw it?" Teru replied
heatedly.  "Ever heard of first come first served, runt?"  Without
bothering to tear down the flier, he pasted the Track and Field team's
over it.
"Why you…!  *&*%^%^^T&*^(@#!!!"  Jiro launched himself at Teru.
"Hey!  Hey!  Break it up!"  Takuro and Rika each grabbed one of them,
dragging them apart.  "That's it," Takuro said calmly.  Taking out a
notebook, he jotted something down and put it back in his pocket. 
"Both the Track and Field team and the Photography Club can only put
up any promotional material outside the compound."
"But!…" the two of them protested simultaneously.  But they subsided
under the warning glares of the two SC members.
"Shit, it was all your fault," Jiro muttered sullenly after Takuro
and Rika left to continue their 'patrol'.  
"What do you mean, it was my fault?!" Teru replied, indignant.  "If
you had backed down like you were supposed to, none of this would have
happened…"
They continued to quarrel, taking no notice of the four members of
Siam Shade who had just quietly slipped away from the Photography
Club's booth.
"Okay, now all we have to do is wait for Kiyoharu to appear, then we
pick a fight with him and push him against the stand," Hideki said.
"Are you sure it'll work?" Kazuma asked.
"Sure it will, at the very least he won't be able to pick up his
camera for a month," was the reply, followed by wicked laughter.

***

Sugi walked around the compound beside Ryu, as the latter pointed out
the latest developments and explained the various activities that were
soon to take place.  Only half his attention was on Ryu's words as
they proceeded, a path automatically clearing for them wherever they
went.  He studied his Vice President's animated face as he spoke,
absently wondering why he didn't see this side of Ryu more.  Maybe… if
Ryu weren't so fixated on power…
"Excuse me, Vice President," someone came up from behind,
interrupting them.  "There's something that requires your approval."
Ryu nodded, turning to Sugi.  "This could take a while.  Why don't
you walk around by yourself and I'll look for you when I'm done?"
Sugi waved a hand, gesturing for them to go.
He turned the corner, and paused by the Photography Club's booth when
he saw who was coming towards him.  A corner of his mouth lifted in
anticipation.
"My, my, what a surprise to see you here," Sugi drawled.  "I would
have thought you were asleep somewhere."
Not deigning to answer, Ino tried to side-step Sugi, but Sugi
gracefully moved with him, blocking his path.  "Ah ah, where are your
manners?"
Though he wanted to snub Sugi, he realised it wasn't the wisest thing
to do under the gazes of so many people, the majority of whom were
Sugi's lackeys.
Gritting his teeth, he conceded reluctantly.  "Do you mind stepping
aside?  I have to deliver these to my class' booth."  
"Oh, but I do mind…  I mind very much."
The sudden viciousness in his tone made Ino jerk his head up to truly
look at Sugi.  A shiver ran down his spine as he registered the unholy
light in Sugi's eyes.  This time he was the one who retreated, moving
back.  
        Sugi took a step forward, closing the distance between them
again.  "No one, and I mean absolutely _no one_, has ever insulted me
and come through the experience whole.  Do not think that you will be
an exception."  He smiled as Ino backed away warily once more. 
"Welcome to the game, my dear Ino.  I'm sure J will be pleased to hear
that I've transferred my affections for him to you."  He reached out
to caress Ino's face, but Ino drew back abruptly…
        …and stumbled against the Photography Club's booth.
        Time seemed to slow as the box of decorations Ino was carrying
dropped to the ground as he fell, and he could only stare, dazed, as
the entire structure of the booth swayed and yawed crazily, before
ominously descending upon him.  He closed his eyes in anticipation of
the crash.
        Suddenly, he felt someone push him away, followed by a muffled
grunt of pain as the booth completely collapsed.  What the hell?…  He
sat up, gingerly touching his forehead where a bruise was forming.
        "Ino!!  Oh, god, are you alright?"  J was in front of him,
holding him by the shoulders, running his gaze critically over his
body to check for any serious injuries.
        "I'm fine, J," he assured his anxious brother.  "The booth…"
        "Someone pushed you out of harm's way," J said grimly.
        "Who?…"
        J shifted, standing up to help him to his feet.  Yet he
remained there, too stunned to move.
        There, half buried under the wreckage, lay Sugi.  

***

"His arm is broken and there's a cut on his head that needed a few
stitches, but otherwise, he's fine," Atsushi said as he emerged from
behind the curtain surrounding the bed.  "He'll probably be awake
within the hour."
"Thank god!" Ichiro exclaimed in relief.
"Good," Imai added.  Turning to Ryu, who was hovering by the door of
the sick bay, he said firmly, "I expect you to deal with this
properly.  This sort of thing is not allowed to happen a second time."
"Hai, Imai-sensei," Ryu replied, bowing as the two teachers passed
him on the way out.
"Ryu?"
"Huh?"  Ryu straightened, turning towards Atsushi.
"Do you want to wait for him to wake up?"
"Ah… no, I… I better go clean up the mess outside," Ryu said
hurriedly, swiftly striding away.  Absorbed in his thoughts, he didn't
notice the tall figure in front of him until they bumped into each
other.  He glanced up, a little confused, at J's worried face.  "Get
out of my way," he said automatically as he moved around the bigger guy.
"Wait!"  J grabbed his arm, preventing him from going further.  "How…
how is he?"
Shrugging off the restriction, he retorted, "The sick bay's just over
there.  Go find out yourself."  Ryu walked briskly away, the meeting
with Siam Shade earlier looping in his head…
"You WHAT?!!"
"W-We're so sorry, Vice President," Hideki had stammered in fear. 
"We really didn't expect President Sugi to be there at all."
"Shit!!…"
Ryu's pace ground to a halt outside the school building.  From where
he was standing, the ruins of the booth was clearly visible.  A chill
settled over him as he realised if Sugi found out he was behind this,
there would be hell to pay.

***

J sat beside the bed, gazing at the pale face in front of him. 
Unwillingly, his gaze was drawn to the bandage around Sugi's forehead,
its whiteness reinforcing Sugi's pallor all the more.  The exquisite
features were relaxed, the pride and arrogance absent.  Then Sugi
shifted, and a pained expression marred the perfection of before.
Unconsciously, J reached out, trying to smooth out the wrinkle
between Sugi's brows.  His hand settled upon Sugi's soft hair, and he
brushed it back gently, the action reminding him of the times when he
had to take care of Ino after he'd gotten into yet another fight.
His mind was in complete turmoil.  The images of two hours past
played before him, clear as if they were taking place again in the
sick bay.  He remembered the terrible sinking feeling in his gut when
he saw the booth coming down on Ino - and he was too far away to do
anything.  Then, as if out of nowhere, Sugi was there, just in time to
shove Ino out from under the booth, but not fast enough to escape
himself.
The sound of the sick bay door sliding open made him draw his hand
back quickly.  Glancing around, he saw it was Ino who had entered, a
cautious expression on his face.
"Is he alright?"  Ino's tone was grudging at best.
"Yeah, Atsushi-sensei says he'll regain consciousness soon," J replied.
"Oh…"
The silence drew out as they looked from each other to their nemesis
lying on the bed, not knowing what to say anymore.
Studying J's frowning expression, Ino could guess what was going on
in his mind at the moment.  It couldn't have been too different from
what was in his own.
It made no sense at all.  Why would Sugi want to help him?  Just
seconds before the accident, he'd been so malicious.  And now all of a
sudden, he'd made a 180-degrees turn and became Ino's saviour.  
A tiny suggestion insinuated itself in the back of his brain,
clamouring to make itself known, but Ino shook his head, stilling it. 
No, he simply could not imagine anyone could go to such twisted
lengths just to get even…  Besides, now he was in Sugi's debt, and
cruel intentions or no, he doubted anyone, even J, would believe him
if he accused Sugi of possessing an ulterior motive.
        "Um, I'll go get cleaned up then," Ino mumbled.
        "Huh?  Oh, okay then…  I'll just wait until he gets up," J
answered rather distractedly.
        After Ino left, J sank back into his brooding.  The infernal
question kept spinning inside him -
        "To what do I owe this honour?"  J jumped as he heard the
raspy, slightly strained voice, still mocking nonetheless.  He looked
up to see Sugi staring back at him, the haughty expression back on his
face, threaded through with something that he didn't ever recall
seeing before.
        "You… you're awake.  I'll go get Atsushi-sensei," J said, a
little flustered, getting up from his seat.
        "No," Sugi grasped his wrist, preventing him from leaving the
curtained-off area around the bed, "there's no need.  Just help me sit
up, will you?"
        After Sugi had settled himself back, J stood back awkwardly. 
There were so many things he wanted to ask, but he had no idea how to
give voice to them.
        "Yes, is there something you would like to say?"  Sugi's
slightly amused voice brought him out of his reverie.
"…Why?"  J's voice was almost inaudible.
"Why what?"
"You pushed Ino out of the way."
"Did I?" Sugi replied carelessly, fussing with the bandage around his
arm.  "Why don't I have any memory of that?"
"What?!  But I saw…"
"Then you must have been mistaken."  Sugi caught his gaze and held it
while he enunciated his word clearly.
They clashed wordlessly for a moment further until Sugi turned away,
leaning his head back and closing his eyes.  "Could you leave now?"  A
trace of exhaustion tinged his words.
There was nothing else to do.
J stepped back, one hand drawing the curtain aside to go.  He paused,
and turned back.  "No matter what you say, I saw what you did.  Thank
you for saving my brother."  Much of the usual hostility was leached
from his tone.
He walked out, never looking back, so he didn't see the satisfied
gleam in Sugi's open eyes.