First Battle by Ina-chan
First Posted Online: May 2, 2002
History: My first Fic about how Kyou and Yuki became acquainted

“From my understanding, what you’re saying is that…” The young martial arts teacher began as he watched his conversation partner carefully, “… you want me to take him as one of my students.”

 Souma Shigure took a sip of the hot tea before him before making a solemn nod, “Things have started to become… ‘complicated’… in the Inner House lately. He’s being affected by it very badly. Aside from the health benefits, his parents agreed that this would be a much needed distraction…” His voice trailed giving the martial arts teacher a significant look.

 Whether he caught it or not, the expression on Souma Kazuma’s serene face didn’t show any indication of it. “So you say that it is with his parents’ permission… but Shigure-kun, why didn’t they come to ask me themselves.”

 “Ah… Uncle left for a business trip abroad this morning, and Auntie is… busy with a lot of things…”

 “Therefore they entrusted this task to you,” Kazuma finished the sentence for the young man

 “In not so many words,” Shigure replied before taking another sip of tea

 “And Akito?”

 Shigure simply continued sipping his tea.

 “I see…”

 The dark-haired man set his cup down the table and gave the other man another significant look, “Then you understand the need for this. He’s literally suffocating. He needs more air to breathe. Air from outside.”

 “Yes, I understand your concerns. In many ways, the two of them are very similar,” This time, it was Kazuma’s turn to give his conversation partner a significant look “But you also have to understand, Shigure-kun. If I take him as a student, another ‘complication’ will arise.”

 “Aaah… yes, ‘that’…” Shigure agreed, “I did put a lot of thought with that… but in the end, I came to the conclusion that this situation is inevitable. It probably would be better if we were to face it now when the explosions would still be controllable, than later.”

 “You have a point there,” a small smile lined on Kazuma’s lips, “College life suited you well, Shigure-kun. You’ve grown more introspective.”

 “Ah-ha-ha-ha!” Shigure laughed before suddenly rubbing his chin with a mock-serious expression, “Was there ever a doubt?”

 “But still…” Kazuma continued, “Children don’t think the same way as adults. I think it would be best to wait a little and let me talk to Kyou about this whole matter. Just to prepare with the idea that they will be spending more time together outside of New Year’s.”

 “Eh? But Kazuma-dono,” Shigure began slowly, his eyes wandering to the direction of the dojo, “Don’t you think it’s a little too late for that?”

 Kazuma blinked, “You mean Yuki is already here?”

 Shigure sweat-dropped, and stated in a small voice, “You greeted us at the gate just a few minutes ago.”

 *****

                The Cat felt the hairs at the back of his neck crawl. He tried to ignore that damned person. But the damned chatter from the corner of the dojo kept on reminding him of that damned person’s presence. He took a deep breath and started his kata, hoping that the practiced series of moves would distract his mind from continuing on its track of murderous thoughts.  

Block, forward punch, turn, block, forward punch… But his blood was already boiling… and that was only from the mere sight of that damned person.  The monotonous chatter from the corner of the room was only fuelling his anger even more.  

                Turn, block, forward punch… That Haru… that little traitor… standing there in the corner, clinging and following that damned person around like a lovesick puppy. It was only sometime ago that the Cow was just like him. The very thought of that person immediately brought out the Cow’s black personality. The Cow was his only ally against that damned person. But suddenly, right after New Year’s, for some mysterious reason, the Cow suddenly changed his tune. That damned little traitor.  

                Forward punch, side step, block, kick… Why the hell is he here anyway? He could barely stand his presence in the Main House. It was a good thing he only had to breathe the same air as him during New Year’s. But this is his territory. How dare that damned person invade and defile this haven with his presence!  

                Turn, block, forward punch, reverse punch… What gave him the right to come here and stand in that corner, quietly watching over him with those scrutinizing beady little eyes like he’s a damned royalty or something?  

                Turn, block… This isn’t helping at all. He was just getting even more and more irritated and angry. Why did that damned person have to come here anyway?  

Block… Damn him!  

Reverse kick… Damn it all!  

Forward kick… Kuso!  

Side thrust… Kuso!  

Back kick…  Kuso nezumi!  

Turn… He clenched his teeth, imagining that damned person’s face in front of him as he pulled back his arm to focus all his strength at that spot in the air with one final kiai---

                 “AAAAH!  KYOU WATCH OUT!”

                 At that split-second, the Cat’s eyes widened in horror at the realization that the face he thought he was imagining in front of him was not his imagination. He managed to pull his punch less than an inch short from hitting the other boy’s nose. He held his breath, almost in shock, as he stood there frozen staring into the other boy’s impassive gray eyes.  

Irritated relief started to flood through him. Stupid Mouse. How pathetic. Didn’t raise any defenses at all. If he didn’t pull back his punch in time, that damned Mouse will have a bloody pulp for a nose. If it weren’t for that, the damned Mouse wouldn’t be standing there, staring at him with those deadpan eyes…  

‘What the…’ irritated relief quickly turned into irritated anger when the other boy’s expression registered in his head. He almost hit the living daylights out of that damned annoyance, and that annoyance didn’t even flinch! The fire-haired boy’s eyes immediately turned into narrow slits, and the hairs on his head automatically bristled in indignation. It was a perfectly good punch after all, that was worthy of some form of reaction. Is the damned Mouse making a fool of him?  

As if reading his mind, the other boy’s expressionless gray eyes narrowed into half-closed lids, and a small sardonic grin curved the mouse’s lips into a thin line. The fire-haired boy immediately lost his bearings and took an involuntary step backwards. He had seen that evil smile before. For a moment, it was almost as if it wasn’t that damned mouse that was standing there in front of him with that condescending look. For that one split-second, it was almost as if it was that other demon who also tormented him was the one standing in front of him, staring at him with those malevolent gray eyes.  

                “Maaa, watch where you’re going Kyou, you almost hit Yuki,” Haru’s voice snapped him back to reality, “That’s really pathetic, loosing your concentration and almost hitting a novice. What will Shihan say if he found out what you almost did.”  

                “SHUT UP!” The Cat snapped at the younger boy as hot waves of embarrassment flushed his face, “It was an accident.”  

                “Hnnnn?” The Cow intoned, “It looked as if you were aiming for him on purpose a while ago.”  

                “IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!” The Cat growled insistently at the younger boy, before turning gruffly to the damned Mouse, and spitting out the words through clenched teeth, “imsorry.”

                 The Mouse held the Cat’s gaze a few more moments before making a small nod and turning around to make his way across the dojo and towards the room where his older companion disappeared. Whatever flames of indignation that was dampened by the boy’s earlier humiliation was re-ignited at the other boy’s reaction.  

The Cat immediately grabbed the Mouse’s shoulder and roughly forced him to turn around and face him, “Hey! Who do you think you are? Walking around arrogantly like some kind of damned prince. I just said I was sorry. The least thing you could do is to say something to acknowledge my apology!”  

                Haru immediately put himself between his cousins and gently pushed Kyou aside.  

                “WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!?!?” The Cat yelled at the younger boy  

                “Stopping you from making an even bigger fool of yourself,” The Cow replied quietly, “But it’s understandable because you live outside, so you don’t know that about Yuki.”               

                “Know what? That he’s an arrogant bastard?” The Cat retorted sarcastically, shooting a glare at the Mouse’s direction  

                The Cow shook his head, with a serious and mournful expression on his face. 

*****  

                “Yuki can’t talk?” Kazuma stared at the man before him in surprise  

                “After that accident in the garden,” Shigure replied  

                 “Yes, I heard about it, ” The teacher answered, then stopped as if sensing something behind the young man’s, words, “But there’s something more to this, isn’t there?”  

                “There’s nothing wrong physically,” Shigure bowed his head, “So the doctor concluded that he sealed away his voice as a self-defense mechanism.”  

                “What happened?”  

                “After Ha-san erased all his friends’ memories, Yuki was inconsolable. Akito got annoyed, took him and locked the both of them in a room for almost half a day. No one could get them out. When Akito finally opened the door, Yuki was even worse. Ha-san and I tried to get him to tell us what happened, but Yuki would only cry harder. I think we probably pushed him too much. It began with him simply refusing to answer questions. Then he eventually stopped talking altogether. It’s been eight weeks since then and Auntie… well, she has already long lost her patience.”

                  “I see…” Kazuma said, “Now I see… yes. A definite change of environment… even for short periods at a time, will be of some help.”

                 “So does this mean that Kazuma-dono will accept him?” Shigure asked brightly

                 Kazuma closed his eyes, “They have completely different personalities, and the nature of their curses make things even more complicated, but still in many ways, he and the other are exactly the same…” The teacher opened his eyes and made a sad smile, “I’m relieved to see that Yuki, too, also has someone watching over him.”  

                “Those touched by the curse knows its burden,” Shigure started in a quiet voice,  “Though, Kazuma-dono has not experienced this firsthand, you know very well how it can destroy a person and the people around him. I believe it’s important for us to look out for each other. It’s for our own advantage.”  

                The teacher suddenly looked up at the young man before him in surprise. Though what the younger man stated was logical, something in the quality of the younger man’s voice as he said those words startled him. Now, that uncharacteristic deep pondering expression in the young man’s face made him feel a bit uneasy. But before he could address the matter any further, the young man already put on a new cheerful mask.  

                “Ne, Kazuma-dono, there is another favour that I wished to ask from you,” Shigure began, with a hopeful tone, “Kazuma-dono likes to read, don’t you?”  

                Kazuma blinked, “Yes? What about it?”  

                The young man carefully pulled out a relatively abundant folder and laid it on the table in front of him, “I was wondering if you could read this manuscript that I’ve been playing around with. Just let me know if you think it is interesting.”  

                “A novel by Kiritani Noa,” Kazuma read out loud as he looked at the first page, before turning back again to the hopeful young man before him, “Who is he? Is he any good?”  

                “Haaa…” Shigure sweat-dropped… again…

 *****  

                “IS THAT SO!?”

                 “THAT’S EXACTLY SO!!”

                 The Mouse kept his eyes closed has he rubbed the pressure painfully throbbing on his forehead. Once again, he willed his hand to give in to the urge in giving the Cow a big slap on the back of the head, but his body simply didn’t have the energy to follow his commands. He could only wish that the younger boy beside him would just finally shut up. Now, the stupid Cat joining in on the pandemonium is not helping his growing headache. For the hundredth time, he wondered why he let Shigure drag him to this place. He was already feeling tired, and miserable, and the only thing he wanted to do now is curl up in bed buried under the covers and rest.       

                “So what makes you think that’s exactly what he meant to say? Are you some kind of mind reader?”  

                “No, but…” The Mouse’s eyes snapped open as he felt an arm drape around his shoulder and pull him close, “…Yuki and I share a bond that doesn’t require words,” Haru declared in that laid-back monotonous manner of his before turning to face the Mouse, “Isn’t that right, Yuki.”  

                The silent boy sweat-dropped and concentrated on suppressing the urge to burst into tears. The last thing he wanted was to cry in front of that stupid Cat.  

What’s his problem anyway? He only had short glimpses of the stupid Cat at the Inner House every New Years. Even those glimpses were rare since the stupid Cat never joined the New Year’s party. The very moment he stepped into this place, he could sense nothing but an aura of hostility radiating from the other boy. It was similar to the Cow’s during New Years, but a hundred fold more intense. If he wasn’t in the state of mind as he is now, he probably could attempt to diffuse the situation like he did with the Cow that New Year’s.  But right now, the only thing he wanted is to be left alone.

 The Cat swept a long look at the silent mouse before turning to the cow, “That’s a lie! You’re just making that up!”

 “I AM NOT!” The Cow retorted, his face darkening in fury, “ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR!?!”

 The Mouse made an involuntary step away, sensing the personality change within the boy beside him. The last thing he wanted now is to get involved in the backlash when his cousin reverts to his black alter ego. Now, if only the Cow and the stupid Cat would just kill each other right then…

 “YUKI THINKS THAT YOU’RE STUPID! YOU’RE AN IDIOT! YOU PRETEND YOU ALREADY KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT MARTIAL ARTS BUT YOU SUCK AT MAINTAINING UNIFORM STANCES IN YOUR KATA!” The Cow yelled angrily, “YUKI THINKS THAT THE ONLY REASON WHY SHIHAN PRAISES YOUR MOVES IS BECAUSE HE FEELS SORRY FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU’RE SO PATHETIC! AND… AND… AND YUKI THINKS THAT YOUR FEET STINKS!!!!”

 The Mouse buried his face in his hands and rubbed the painful throbbing pressure on his forehead even harder. He definitely wanted to cry now. It’s just like Black Haru to take advantage of a situation and make things even worse. Well, it couldn’t be helped. It’s not as if he could do anything to stop the Cow’s mouth anyway. Besides, only a real idiot would believe anything that comes out of the Cow’s mouth when he’s on black mode. So the Mouse simply held back, wished for Shigure to appear or for God to strike him down to get away from the misery he’s feeling, whichever comes first.

 “HOW DARE YOU THINK THAT WAY ABOUT ME, YOU JERK!?!?!”

 The Mouse opened his eyes and looked up in surprise to see the red-faced indignant Cat glaring at him in fury. Is this guy an idiot?

 “How dare you judge me when you don’t even know me!” The Cat spat angrily, “Then again that’s exactly how the mouse is, isn’t it? YOU ARROGANT, DIRTY, DOUBLE-CROSSING, COWARDLY MOUSE!!! ”

 He really is an idiot! Why… that little… HYPOCRITE!!! Surprise and disbelief quickly dissolved in the Mouse’s consciousness as he felt something inside him snap. He could feel that familiar tightening of his chest and his breathing started to become more irregular. However, this was unlike his usual attacks. Instead of the recognizable feelings of anxiety that made him feel as if he was drowning, a hot but not unpleasant sensation was spreading in his chest, clearing his lungs and clearing his mind. Even his headache had disappeared.

 “You can’t talk? That’s a load of crap! And using Haru like that… YOU’RE JUST A COWARD!” The Cat spat again, “If you have something against me, YOU GO AHEAD AND SAY IT AT MY FACE IF YOU’RE A REAL MAN!”

 The sensation was forcing the Mouse to focus all his energy at nothing else but the incensed figure in front of him. His right eye made an involuntary twitch as he summoned the most hateful glare that he could muster from within him. Without another word, he clenched is left hand and raised it to the level of the other boy’s face.

 The Cat took the challenge and raised his own fists to take a stance with a smirk, “That’s pretty confident of you, issuing a challenge to fight when you don’t know anything.”

 The Mouse simply answered with another malevolent smile before flipping his middle finger at the Cat’s face.

 The Cat dropped his ground and blinked, before giving the Cow at the sideline a questioning look. The Cow returned his gaze blankly before imitating the gesture and staring at his own finger. The Cow shrugged, “I think it’s supposed to be bad.”

 “OH YEAH!? BACK AT YOU!!!” The Cat’s anger immediately flared back, gave the Mouse another fierce look as he imitated the gesture back.

 *****

                 The two men could only stare at the tableau that greeted them as they entered the dojo. It was as if time itself has frozen, a long uncomfortable silence engulfed the room. That was… until the white-haired boy noticed his teacher and broke the silence.

                 “Ne, Shihan!” Haru called out as he innocently waved his middle finger at the speechless instructor, “Yuki did this! What does it mean?”

“Oh my,” Kazuma intoned as Shigure burst out laughing uncontrollably. Kazuma walked toward the three boys and from the expressions on the boy’s faces, he knew that he had to so something to diffuse whatever caused this tension in the air. So he knelt down in front of the closest boy and gave him a soothing smile, “Yuki, I can see that you’re very angry. I’m also glad that you didn’t resort to fighting, but still… what you did wasn’t very nice. Where did you learn to do that?”

 The boy automatically turned around to face the other adult in the room and started to acknowledge the teacher’s question, when Shigure automatically launched himself at the boy and started ruffling the Mouse’s hair playfully, “Ah-ha-ha-ha! These kids today, really! Well, we better start heading home now. I’ll let Auntie know about what we talked about and we’ll start making arrangements so Yuki can come here with Haru three times a week…”

 “WHAT!?!?” Kyou bristled at his older cousin’s words, while Haru made a sigh of pleasure and clung to Yuki’s sleeve, at the Mouse’s further annoyance.

 “YOU MEAN I’M GOING TO HAVE TO ENDURE THAT DAMNED MOUSE’S PRESENCE THREE TIMES A WEEK NOW!?!?!” Kyou cried in annoyance

 “Yes,” Kazuma stated pleasantly

 “It’s going to be fun,” Haru quipped

 “IT WILL NOT!!!” Kyou retorted

 Yuki buried his face in his hand again.

 Shigure laughed.

 *****

                 The Dog watched the Mouse from the corner of his eye as the Mouse stared passively at the passing scenery from the car’s window.  The teacher was right. In many ways, and in spite their differences, the Mouse and the Cat are very much alike.

                 But…

                 Looking at his young cousin now, in many ways, the Mouse was very similar to that other one too. But unlike the other one, there was more hope for Yuki.  It’s not yet too late. Not yet.

                 “Ne, Yuki-kun,” Shigure chirped through the silence, “So what do you think of the idea now? Are you up to studying martial arts with Ha-kun and Kyou-kun?”

                 Shigure shrank back instinctively as he sensed a strong wave of energy emitting from his cousin’s impassive position. Beads of sweat started to line his forehead. Though the boy didn’t move an inch, the young man could almost swear that he could feel the temperature in the car suddenly rise at least 10 degrees. Shigure sighed, “It’s no use getting angry at me.”

                 “Baka neko.”

                 “Eh?” Shigure blinked at the sound. The words were soft, hoarse, and almost inaudible. But still… the young man looked the young boy hopefully. But the boy was still doing his very convincing impression of a stone statue. Shigure frowned; he could have sworn he heard it, “Yuki-kun?”

                 “Baka neko.”

                 The words came again. They were clearer and louder now. The young man can only stare speechlessly at his younger cousin.

                 “There’s no way I’m going to loose to someone like him,” The boy continued, his voice was shaking in anger, but nevertheless clear, unmistakable, and perhaps for the first time in the longest while, with great conviction, “I’m going to crush that stupid cat.”

                 “Hai, hai,” Shigure agreed cheerfully, as a smile made its way on his lips. Yes, there’s definitely still hope. It’s not too late yet. Not too late at all.

 ~ FIN

 Author’s squawk:

 I have been playing with this idea for a while, and it’s only recently that I finally figured out a way to flesh it! ^_^. Though I’m not a strong supporter of Kyou x Yuki love, I’m a great believer that even though Kyou and Yuki hate each other… these actions and feelings are just as important though it is on the other side of the lovey-dovey spectrum. Competition is a very good initiative, and I’d like to believe that the competition between Yuki and Kyou has, at times, had become their saving grace.   Forgive me for over-emphasizing Kazuma’s absent-mindedness. ^_^. I also played around a little bit with the chronological order of events… but since these events are still pretty much, vague, in actual storyline, I think this was still logical.

 As for Yuki’s gray eyes… I figured that since this fic is based on the manga anywayz… might as well use the manga character designs. ^_^.

 Other side notes: “Shihan” (means “Teacher or Instructor”) is what Yuki and Kagura calls Kazuma. So I’m assuming that all his students, other than Kyou, would call him that.

 Ja!
Ina-chan