rabenhorst (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rabenhorst) wrote2009-03-22 11:24 pm
rabenhorst) wrote2009-03-22 11:24 pm
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Title: Spring; Chapter 2: Never judge a book by its cover
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
seinen_no and fonulyn
Rating: PG [going up to NC17]
Pairing: Die and Kaoru
Disclaimer: We own no one, only our dirty imaginations.
Summary: Kaoru is the most popular guy at the whole school, the student council and a straight A student, leading a life that most people consider perfect and flawless. Die is a happy-go-lucky, lazy average student who more likes to concentrate on enjoying life rather than giving all of his time for studying. When the latter is about to fail physics amongst some other subjects, the former is hired to give him private lessons. The boys don’t exactly like each other to begin with though…
Comments:
seinen_no: What to say…? Well, enjoy! I like this chap and I have to admit that it was really much fun reading through this again after such a long time. Kyo's amusing even me as I had forgotten how he was there. And now I sound selfish… Anyhow, I hope you have fun reading this :D
fonulyn: Okay, so the story is progressing and they’re getting to actually know each other more than what those first encounters allowed 8D I like that. And I like Kyo too XD (I can praise him easily since I’m not the one writing him *lol) Just enjoy!
And feel free to add our journal if you like the stories!
Plus, the archive .
Previously happened: Part 1
Chapter 2: Never judge a book by its cover
No whining helped though and the day when Kaoru would give Die his first lesson came and very much to the redhead's terror, he came to his house. That meant Kaoru entered Die's very private room, would see his posters, his furniture, everything and that fact made the redhead nervous. The greeting with Mrs Andou had been very friendly and she was head over heels for this nice young man, instantly telling Die he should take him as a good example.
The frown on the redhead's face showed how much he already disliked the mere idea of taking the other teen as a good example. He only grumbled something as an answer and reluctantly headed towards his room to show Kaoru the way. He had seen the malicious grin his sister had thrown at him and that already served to make his mood even darker than just a moment ago.
Once alone, the older teen sat down at a chair next to Die's desk and opened his backpack, digging out some books. "So," he turned to look at the other one, "your mom said you're worst in English, right? Would you want to begin with that then? Maybe you should first give me an example so that I can see how far you are," he asked professionally. Yet, there was something cold in his tone, something utterly disinterested.
"Actually it's physics I'm failing but English sucks too." Die shrugged, trying to look casual although the coldness in the other teen's tone managed to make him furious already. "What kind of example do you want?" He leaned back in his seat, folding his arms across his chest and glared at the other one.
Smirking, Kaoru began to ask questions in the foreign language, deliberately using complicated sentences to see how far the other one was really. Die's answers were half-hearted and for some time, the older teen only listened to him. But then, he shook his head. "Stop it!" He glared at the redhead on his side. "Look, I'm not eager to do this either, but your mom pays money for this and don't you think you owe her some respect by trying your best?"
"Maybe if you stopped being such a prick I might give it more effort!" The redhead snapped, frowning seriously. "From the first moment you saw me you've kept giving me the cold stare and I'm tired of it."
"You imagine things," the older teen shrugged. "I never gave you anything. I was only pissed because you splashed me with water, but I somehow can't help the feeling that it's YOU who can't get over that."
"Look, I apologized and you called me an idiot. That's not exactly something to go with good manners, Mr Perfect." Die was still frowning but inwardly he thought if it was true that he was imagining things.
"What did you just call me?" Kaoru glared at his counterpart and if looks could kill, Die would've dropped dead instantly. "I already told you, I was pissed, period. There's nothing more to that."
"Kyo told me you never snap like that." The redhead spoke without thinking, but didn't let it show when he startled a bit. He wasn't sure if his friend would kill him later for saying that. "But to me you did so there has to be something more to it."
"Fuck it. There's a first time for everything and you just happened to make an anyways stressful day even more shitty and miserable. So stop shittin' with me and shut the fuck up!" As much as Kaoru tried, he couldn't remember using this many swear words in one sentence and that alone made him even angrier, because he indeed never lost his countenance like that.
"So even you have shitty days?" Die rolled his eyes at the statement. "One would think that you'd be perfectly happy in your perfect little life, admired by everyone around you. But fine." He turned his head, looking to the side. "Let's just get to the point so we don't need to spend the whole night here."
Kaoru didn't reply to that, but opened the book and began explaining English grammar. Inwardly, he was fuming though. Why did everybody think he was perfect? He tried his best not to stick out too much, but with the attempt, he seemed to achieve the absolute opposite. So the better and more polite he was, the more people seemed to demand from him. Maybe he shouldn't let somebody like Die agitate him so much and rather just do his job and help him pass his courses, nothing more, but nothing less either.
The mood stayed awkward throughout the whole evening and they weren't exactly the closest of friends when Die finally guided Kaoru out of his room. To his horror his mother even had set some tea, practically forcing the polite young man to stay for a moment to have tea and cookies. It was hard for Die to suppress his anger when his mother kept on praising Kaoru after he had left, as he had surely left a good impression behind.
It stayed like that during their next meeting, but one day, Kaoru seemed to be very stressed and looked quite exhausted. He didn't complain, didn't even mention it but it was clearly written across his features that something must have happened which had robbed him his sleep. It made Die curious and the next day at school, he instantly asked Kyo about it. But the small blonde had no idea and only shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe he has begun to take even more students or there's something at the council going wrong," he uttered, chuckling a bit as he found it amusing that his friend suddenly showed some interest.
The truth was that Die was a compassionate person deep down inside, and somehow seeing his tutor stressed out like that had made him think about the whole situation in a completely different way. There was something in Kaoru that made him curious about what was going on inside his head, and he wanted to know what was bothering him. The next time they met Kaoru looked the same, but Die managed to hold back long. When they still had left half of their session he couldn't suppress his curiosity anymore though, and burst out. "You seem to be tired."
"Well, I am," the older teen admitted without explaining further. The neon light of Die's lamp on the desk made him appear even paler than he was usually, but if one looked closely, the hint of a smile ghosted across his lips. "But don't worry, I'm still awake enough to notice your mistakes." The words weren't spoken with the usual cold tone, but there was something silky and smooth in his voice, something the redhead had never noticed before.
To his surprise, Die actually liked the sound of that voice a hell lot and he couldn't help that a small smile appeared on his lips. "I didn't doubt that." For a moment he was silent, but then went on tentatively. "You must be having an awfully strict schedule with all the people you're tutoring..."
"Trying to ditch the rest of the lesson?" the older teen asked smirking. Then, he leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head. "Well, it's not the coaching lessons that are problematic," he admitted finally. For a moment, he seemed to ponder if he should explain further, but then decided against it. "I just need exceptionally much sleep at the moment."
"Maybe you're simply pushing yourself too hard?" the redhead suggested innocently, eager to get the conversation going. He had never seen this side of Kaoru, and he was curious, more than that. "Ever considered taking it easy for a while?"
"I can't." Kaoru shook his head firmly. "And I don't want to." He was shifting in his place, feeling a bit uneasy being questioned like that. Very much to his own surprise though he was certain that Die didn't mean to tease him, that he was genuinely trying to offer some comfort. He must look more terrible than he had thought...
"Just don't burn yourself out." Die offered a soft smile, not pushing the issue any further. This was already a huge step forwards from their previously cold relationship, and he didn't want to ruin it by being too annoying right now.
Still a bit uncomfortable with the situation, Kaoru asked him for something to drink and afterwards, they went on with the exercises as before. The tension in the room had changed drastically though as both students began to feel more relaxed around each other.
Neither of them could deny that it was far nicer once they didn't feel like strangling each other anymore. Slowly Die began to even look forward to the tutoring sessions, although he would've never ever admitted it to Kyo or anyone else at that.
Still, the blonde seemed to get suspicious since Die's usual rants about Kaoru stayed away the following day after his lesson. "So are you becoming best friends now?" Kyo teased during lunch-break. The two had made it a habit to try to steal away from the crowd as there always were some girls who wanted to be close to the handsome redhead who was so good at sports and was secretly known as the new captain of their baseball team.
"Hardly," Die laughed, shaking his head instantly. "We're getting along now though. He's kinda a cool guy in his own way," he admitted, shrugging a bit.
"Cool?" The blonde tilted his head, frowning. "Are you having a fever or did they brainwash you or what?"
That earned him a hit on his arm from the redhead. "Come on, midget, you told me yourself that he's alright. Don't be so surprised that I agree. I'm not THAT thick headed."
"Not??" Kyo laughed. "C'mon, every time I said he's okay, you told me how much you hated his guts." He shook his head, shoving a huge spoon of some indefinable pie into his mouth. "But he really is. If only he wasn't this uptight."
"He still looks friggin' stressed. Last time he almost fell asleep on my physics book right in the middle of everything." Die shrugged. "I know it's none of my business but he looks like he's killing himself with work."
"He does," the blonde nodded contemplatively. "Maybe it has something to do with Tatsuo visiting them. My mom told me about it." He was speaking as if he assumed that his words would make sense for Die and as if he finally had understood why Kaoru was so tired.
"Tatsuo?" Die arched an eyebrow, turning to look curiously at his friend. "And who might he be?"
"Oh, you don't know?" Kyo scratched his neck, chuckling a bit. "That's Kaoru's older brother. He studies in Tokyo at Todai... If you know what that means."
Die's eyes widened and he let out a commendatory whistle, nodding at the words. "Does it mean he has pressure because the older brother is so good?"
"Man, if you think Kaoru's mere existence is pressuring us, that's nothing compared to what Tatsuo is to him. Tatsuo is EVERYBODY's darling. Go and ask teachers about him, ask anybody, he's known like a coloured cow around here. He's been the student's council too and the captain of the wrestling-team. Didn't you ever hear his name before? Are you living in oblivion or what?"
"I did know he was in the wrestling team," Die admitted, nodding slowly. "But I never paid much attention to the council things... and he's a lot older than us, isn't he?"
"Yeah. He's 25 now, I think, dropped out of school 6, no 7 years ago. And yes, he skipped one whole year because his grades were so good," Kyo explained, a cheerless grin tugging his lips. "I think that's the reason why he pressures himself so much."
"Man, I have to say that I don't envy Kaoru." The redhead sounded truly compassionate. "Being at someone's shadow constantly like that must be hard..." Only now he understood why Kaoru had looked so angry, even hurt when he had called him 'Mr Perfect' on several occasions before.
"Don't tell him you know it from me, okay?" Kyo asked his friend. "He would kill me, 'cause he doesn't even want to admit that that's his problem. But then," a dry chuckle escaped his lips, "how could he? Tatsuo never did something to him. At least not as far as I know. He's just perfectly polite and friendly to everybody."
"Just like Kaoru is," Die pointed out smirking. He patted his friend's shoulder though, nodding at him. "But don't worry, I won't tell him I know it, at least from you."
"Thanks. He doesn't like it when one talks about him behind his back. I mean when friends do that," the smaller one uttered smiling. "Maybe it's because he's used to others spreading rumors or so."
"I understand that. But man, it's so hard to know anything about him otherwise since he doesn't tell anything himself." The redhead stood up already as they had to slowly get going to the next class.
Kyo followed and although he liked to eat, he had left half of his food untouched as it had simply been too disgusting. "Man, I wished my mom could cook like yours..."
After they had left the cafeteria, he grabbed Die's wrist to stop his tracks. "Since everybody's only shallowly interested in Kaoru, he doesn't trust people much, you know. And then there's the stress with catching up with his brother. But every once in a while, he proves that he's human too. At least he did when I got him drunk once." The blonde seemed to be proud of this and laughed heartily before he slapped his friend's shoulder and walked off through another corridor as they had different lessons.
The redhead chuckled and couldn't help but to consider if it'd be possible to get the older teenager drunk once just to see how he'd be then. He had the feeling that he was slowly getting past the cold shell Kaoru had built up around himself. Maybe not completely but at least they were talking now, even on friendly terms instead of the cold war that had been going on in the beginning. If it hadn't been for the bloody studying he might've even enjoyed the tutoring hours.
The more time they spent together though, the more relaxed Kaoru was around the redhead and he even seemed to be enjoying the moments. Through some weird history book, they found out that they liked the same anime series and talked about it a bit which seemed to get them closer still.
*
One day though, Kaoru didn't come. There was no call, no explanation, but the next day at school, he was missing too and rumors went on that he was hospitalized, deadly sick.
As much as Die wouldn't have wanted to admit it, the whole situation freaked him out. Kaoru had seemed so stressed lately and he couldn't help but to worry, whether he wanted or not. Carefully he tried to ask Kyo if he knew anything about it, trying not to look to eager or too interested though. "Hey Kyo!" He patted the small blonde's shoulder to gain his attention. "Seen Kaoru around?"
Kyo looked up and nodded, but then again shook his head. "Yeah, well no. He hasn't come to my last coaching lesson, so my mom called his mom and she told him that he's having a fever or so." He shrugged his shoulders. "Weird. He has never been ill all the time. I mean he has, but he still came to school and fulfilled all his duties."
"Thanks man. I've gotta catch the maths lesson. See ya later." Die flashed his friend a smile and headed off. He didn't go to the maths lesson though, not although he knew that he should. He wasn't even sure what made him this worried, but he just had the total urge to see Kaoru with his own two eyes to see he wasn't dying.
He did have Kaoru's home address as he had gotten it in case he'd need it, but still he didn't even realize where he was going before he actually found himself in front of the house. That was the point when he hesitated. What could he say? 'Hi Kaoru, you don't even like me but I was worried that you were dying so I had to check up on you'? Slowly he turned, thinking that he'd still probably have the time to flee the scenery.
At that moment, the door opened and Kaoru stood in the frame, wearing a pair of old, torn jeans and an oversized pullover, a garbage bag in his hand. Startled, he almost dropped it, but then furrowed his brows, examining the taller boy thoroughly. "What are you doing here?" The cold undertone was back in his voice and Die had no idea why. "Look, I'm sorry about skipping your lesson, but we'll repeat it."
"No, it's not that." Die raised his hands, shaking his head instantly. "I didn't come because of that." He hesitated, biting his lower lip and thought what he should say. In the end he couldn't come up with anything though and had to babble out the truth, as weird as it sounded. "It's just that you disappeared so totally and everyone knows you never skip a lesson and people said you were dying and really sick and even Kyo didn't know anything about where you are and what's up so I..." He averted his gaze and his voice grew so faint he was pretty sure the other boy didn't hear him anymore. "...was worried."
For a few seconds, Kaoru didn't move at all, only stared at him some kind of bewildered. He didn't know what to say, had no idea how to react to something like that. Suddenly, he shook his head though and walked past the redhead, throwing the trash into the bin outside in the garden. Already back in the door, he asked. "Want to come inside?" Yet didn't turn around.
Again the younger teenager hesitated but then thought that what would he have to lose? He had already skipped his maths lesson and made a fool of himself so he could as well still follow the invitation too. "If it's not a bother..."
"You're here anyways, right?" A faint smile appeared on Kaoru's lips, but the other boy couldn't see it. He simply walked off, assuming Die would follow him. "Kaoru? Is there somebody at the door?" his mother shouted from the kitchen. "It's just a friend from school mom. He's bringing me my homework."
That made Die smile, and quickly he followed the older boy into the house. It was big and looked like it belonged to a wealthy family, and for a second Die just looked around with slightly widened eyes. Soon he remembered his manners though, snapping back to reality. "So," he gave Kaoru a tentative smile, tilting his head a bit. "Apparently you aren't dying after all." His eyes were sparkling.
The answer was a soft smile, although there was a hint of tiredness laced in it. "C'mon, let's get into my room." Kaoru led Die up the stairs to a room that exceeded Die's by far. It was neat and tidy, no dust particle anywhere. Sighing, the older boy slumped down on his bed, gazing straight at the other one. "No, I'm not dying," he finally answered Die's initial question and if one looked closely there was an amused sparkle somewhere in his eyes. "I'm only ...," he hesitated, but then cut the rest of the sentence, shaking his head.
"Exhausted?" Die threw in his best guess, hesitating a moment beside a sparkling clean armchair before carefully sitting down on the edge of it, as if fearing he'd otherwise break it or make it dirty.
"Kinda," Kaoru admitted nodding, sighing deeply the next moment. Silence fell upon them and both students were eagerly looking into different directions when suddenly the door flung open and Kaoru's mother, a small woman with a perfect figure and a neat costume entered the room. "Sorry to interrupt," she apologized formally, nodding at Die, "but I have to go. Please make sure to tell Tatsuo about the changed schedule, okay? He can take a train earlier. And then you go to bed and sleep early. You can't afford to miss too many lessons now that the exams are so close."
She bent down and gave her son a kiss on the forehead before she turned to face Die. "It's been nice meeting you." Then, she hurried off again. As soon as the door closed, Kaoru raised his middle finger and fell backwards into the cushions with a displeased growl. Only then, he remembered the redhead's presence and instantly blushed a deep red. This hadn't been exactly the Kaoru he presented usually.
"Hey, you're human after all!" Die chuckled, and his eyes were sparkling in a way that showed he meant no harm with the comment. He got a tiny bit more comfortable on the chair, carefully though. "So you've been resting now? You did look like a living dead to be honest. I know it's not my business though..."
"It really isn't." Despite his attempt to sound harsh, Kaoru didn't have the needed strength to argue at that moment, but he also didn't tell Die the real reason why he had ditched the coaching lesson and school. For a moment, he looked at the redhead intensely until a grin found its way to his lips.
"So, you came here because you were worried about me? Wanted to make sure I'm really dying or do you have some arsenic hidden in your pocket to help it a bit?" he tried to joke. The fact that Die had said that, something one usually wouldn't say to a senior who wasn't even a friend but only his tutor, caused both of them to be embarrassed a bit and joking was one way to deal with it.
"Not really," Die laughed, scratching his neck embarrassed and averted his gaze down to the carpet. "It was just that I thought 'geez, Kaoru is home sick, hell must be freezing'." He didn't know whether to enjoy the fact that the other teen was actually nice to him and he got to see his room, or be utterly embarrassed about his own actions.
Suddenly, totally out of the blue, the older one asked. "Want to stay and play a round Tekken with me?" There was nothing on his face or his whole countenance that gave away the reason for his question. Only Kaoru knew that he really enjoyed being with the redhead, although there were these awkward moments of silence between them every once in a while.
The immediate reaction from the redhead was surprise and his eyes widened a bit. In mere seconds he got over it though and smiled completely honest. "Sure. I missed the maths class already anyways."
"I know." The older teen nodded grinning. "And that's why we first go through your stuff so that you won't be behind but surprise them all with your knowledge." He grinned maliciously and no matter how much Die whined, he indeed was forced to study before they went over to playing the game. It got late though and at one point, Kaoru jumped up. "Damn! I need to call my brother..."
"Oh, sure. Want me to go?" Die asked automatically, not wanting to be a bother. He had really grown to enjoy the other teen's presence and their playing together, but he still felt somewhat awkward in the big house, not knowing what he was allowed to touch and fearing he'd break something any moment.
Kaoru knew how strangers felt around him and his home, but he had forgotten it and only shook his head. "No need. If you want, we can order some pizza for later, but I first have to call my brother." For some reason, he didn't want Die to leave already, didn't want to be alone in the big house.
"Sure." Die rewarded him with an honest smile, nodding a bit. He didn't even know himself why but he wanted to cling on to the moment and spend more time with Kaoru.
The phone-call didn't take long. Half an hour later, the doorbell rung, showing that Kaoru indeed had ordered them pizza. Sitting on the clean floor of his room before the running TV, they ate hungrily, drank coke and other than that, remained more or less silent. Somehow, they didn't manage to get a flowing conversation going, but neither of them cared that much. For Die, it was special to see Kaoru, school's Mr. Perfect, so very private, relaxed even and he couldn't help the thought that the other student didn't look as if he had had a fever. Kaoru on the other hand enjoyed the company, to have somebody there who didn't seem to have any expectations in him but just to be himself.
After the pizza was gone they managed to even get a some sort of conversation going, be it only commenting on some stupid characters on the TV-show they were watching. Still it was nice somehow, and they both felt more at ease at each other's presence than ever before. The mood was so nice that after a long time Die dared to speak up, setting his question carefully as he didn't want to agitate his newly found friend. "How long are you going to stay away from school now? I mean, mom always says one has to rest until the sickness is completely gone and all, and I thought..."
"... that I should do that too?" Kaoru completed his sentence. He was lying on his side on the floor, but now turned on his back, tilting his head so that he could look the other teen straight in the eyes. "I'll be back at school tomorrow. I don't want to skip too many lessons."
"I bet it wouldn't even be bad if you did, you know." The redhead offered a smile. "You're so clever, you could catch up easily even if you stayed away several days."
The words made the older one laugh cheerlessly. "It might be a big revelation for you, but I do have to study for my good grades. If I miss too many lessons, I would have to study more and then I will have even more str-" Before he finished the sentence, he cut it off, shaking his head. "What am I saying? You can't understand that anyways."
"Hey," Die frowned, more or less seriously. He shifted a bit closer though, was even tempted to touch the other boy's shoulder but pulled his hand back nevertheless. "I might not be a straight A student but I still know how it is to be stressed out. Not that I would've been there often but..." He admitted with a small chuckle. Somehow he desperately wanted to make the other feel better, but didn't know how.
"... but you think you know how I feel, right?" To Kaoru, it was oddly sweet to see how the redhead tried to understand him, tried to be compassionate. It was even a bit suspicious as if Die was a spy sent by his aunt or mother or so. "Don't worry, Die. I survived this far, I will survive till the holidays too." He gave the other student an honest smile, but simply didn't want to discuss this further with him.
"I - Alright." Die nodded, swallowing the words that had first been about to escape him. "Just take care of yourself. I know it sounds so corny coming from me," He chuckled a bit. "but I mean it. I need to pass those courses still and can't lose my tutor." He added with a wink.
"Well, if that's your concern, I can assure you that you'll pass your damn courses. Even if I'll have to kick your ass to do it."
They kept on talking for a bit longer still, but then it was time for Die to leave. The moment at the door was awkward again and first, the redhead only wanted to wave his hand, but then, the older teen surprised him, by grabbing it, giving him a firm handshake. "See you tomorrow, Die." Kaoru smiled.
*
Indeed, Kaoru was back at school the next day. It seemed like he hadn't been sick at all, but somehow the rumor spread that the student council had a secret love-affair, that somebody had visited him the day before. Nobody knew where it had come from, but Kyo was grinning widely when he approached Die before their next history-lesson. "So, how does it feel to have an affair with one of the most popular guys at school?" he asked chuckling.
That earned him a slap on the back of his head instantly, and Die grunted displeased. "Fuck you. I wouldn't even be surprised if it was YOU who set out the rumor in the first place just to see me squirm." He wasn't totally serious and even amused by the situation as of course no one knew he had been at Kaoru's house the day before.
"Hey, I would never sacrifice Kao to get you!" Kyo laughed throatily. "But well, fact is that somebody visited him yesterday. Or at least rumors say so." He grabbed the redhead's wrist, pretending to examine his hand. "Those must be magic hands if you managed to save Kaoru from the verge of death."
"What can I say, I have abilities that most people aren't aware of." The redhead winked instantly, laughing the matter off. Of course he had known that rumours spread easily, but exactly HOW easily and how fast had come as a surprise to him.
Nobody addressed him though as the rumors were that Kaoru had seen a girl. Now all of them were in an uproar, asking themselves who the chosen one might be. By early afternoon, everything had calmed down though and as Kyo had promised his friend to go and watch Die's baseball-match, the only remaining question was if their team would be able to beat the team of their rival school.
The blonde had just taken a seat in one of the front rows, showing Die two thumbs up, as he froze. There was Kaoru, casually walking along the rows until he sat down somewhere close to him. His cousin hadn't watched a baseball-match since his brother had dropped out of the team in favor of the wrestling- and basketball-team.
The redhead was totally concentrated on the game and on doing whatever he could to help their team to win. He didn't even notice that his tutor was in the audience. Even if he had noticed it he wouldn't have known what an exceptional thing is was, not completely. The game was halfway through already when he glanced at the audience again, grinning at Kyo who instantly waved at him. His gaze wandered along the lines until he spotted Kaoru though, so surprised that he just acted on instinct and waved a bit at the older teen.
Kaoru lifted his eyebrows, indicating a nod. He smiled at Die though and if the redhead wasn't mistaken, even raised his hand a bit, but didn’t really wave. He sneaked away before the game was over, not waiting to be bothered by anybody. It was certain that their team would win anyways and he knew that it was only because of Die.
The redhead was in an utterly good mood afterwards, still high from the win and even otherwise feeling like he was walking on clouds for some reason. As he reached Kyo who had stayed to wait for him he instantly grabbed him into a hug although it wasn't common for them to do. "Did you see THAT! We so totally beat their asses!"
Pulling a disgusted face, the blonde pushed him away, smoothing down his clothes in a theatrical manner. "I saw that. You were amazing, BUT that's no reason to make everybody think we're playing for the other team, right." His laughter nullified the meaning of his words though and he slapped Die's shoulder friendly. "And you even had royal visit."
"I noticed." Die nodded a few times, and it was pretty clear how surprised he was. "I thought first he was there with you, but he sat the whole time a few benches away."
"With me?" Kyo laughed. "Hey, usually nothing, I really mean nothing, is able to drag Kaoru to a sports-game. His excuse is that it's beneath him, but I say it's because his bro spoiled the fun for him."
"He really does have a huge complex because of his brother, right?" The redhead frowned thoughtfully. "Funny. And I used to think that everything is fine in his life..."
"Don't ever mention that word before him, you hear me!" Kyo became serious. "The guy who last did that earned himself a black-eye. He doesn't want to admit to himself how much trouble his brother brought to him. I think it's because he can't do anything against it but to try to be at least as good as Tatsuo."
"Don't worry, I'm not suicidal. But I think it's sad." Die shrugged, chewing on his lower lip. "I mean, the guy uses his whole life chasing something he thinks he's supposed to be."
"Don't you know how that is?" Like natural, the small blonde followed his friend into the locker rooms, ignoring the complaints of the other players and the insinuating remarks. "I think he doesn't have a brother-complex but more an acceptance-problem," he shrugged casually as if he had figured everything out in his mind.
"It might be, I have no idea. But then again, I have no idea why he's not simply content since everyone seems to adore him anyways," the redhead went on casually, trying not to show how much he had really thought about the matter. "Although, I suppose it's a different thing since people just worship him from afar..."
"It's like a bubble that keeps him safe, but also keeps everybody away from him." The blonde sighed, plopping down on the bench as he watched Die take off his clothes to shower. Suddenly though, Kyo tilted his head, his eyes sparkling curiously. "So he caught you in his web now too?"
That made Die startle and he stopped in a mid-movement, turning to look at his friend from slightly widened eyes. "Whaddya mean?"
"Nothing." Kyo shook his head, grinning and then nodded towards the showers. "Now get cleaned and let's go to the arcade. I want to show you the only reason why your team won today was that I didn't play for the other side."
"Like you'd ever be able to do that, midget." Chuckling Die reached to ruffle his friend's hair, knowing how much he hated it, and followed the order to quickly get to the shower and cleaned up. Kyo's kick missed him only by an inch. He and the small blonde spent a nice evening at the arcade and despite his declaration, Die won most of the games they chose to play.
Author:
seinen_no and fonulynRating: PG [going up to NC17]
Pairing: Die and Kaoru
Disclaimer: We own no one, only our dirty imaginations.
Summary: Kaoru is the most popular guy at the whole school, the student council and a straight A student, leading a life that most people consider perfect and flawless. Die is a happy-go-lucky, lazy average student who more likes to concentrate on enjoying life rather than giving all of his time for studying. When the latter is about to fail physics amongst some other subjects, the former is hired to give him private lessons. The boys don’t exactly like each other to begin with though…
Comments:
seinen_no: What to say…? Well, enjoy! I like this chap and I have to admit that it was really much fun reading through this again after such a long time. Kyo's amusing even me as I had forgotten how he was there. And now I sound selfish… Anyhow, I hope you have fun reading this :Dfonulyn: Okay, so the story is progressing and they’re getting to actually know each other more than what those first encounters allowed 8D I like that. And I like Kyo too XD (I can praise him easily since I’m not the one writing him *lol) Just enjoy!And feel free to add our journal if you like the stories!
Plus, the archive .
Previously happened: Part 1
No whining helped though and the day when Kaoru would give Die his first lesson came and very much to the redhead's terror, he came to his house. That meant Kaoru entered Die's very private room, would see his posters, his furniture, everything and that fact made the redhead nervous. The greeting with Mrs Andou had been very friendly and she was head over heels for this nice young man, instantly telling Die he should take him as a good example.
The frown on the redhead's face showed how much he already disliked the mere idea of taking the other teen as a good example. He only grumbled something as an answer and reluctantly headed towards his room to show Kaoru the way. He had seen the malicious grin his sister had thrown at him and that already served to make his mood even darker than just a moment ago.
Once alone, the older teen sat down at a chair next to Die's desk and opened his backpack, digging out some books. "So," he turned to look at the other one, "your mom said you're worst in English, right? Would you want to begin with that then? Maybe you should first give me an example so that I can see how far you are," he asked professionally. Yet, there was something cold in his tone, something utterly disinterested.
"Actually it's physics I'm failing but English sucks too." Die shrugged, trying to look casual although the coldness in the other teen's tone managed to make him furious already. "What kind of example do you want?" He leaned back in his seat, folding his arms across his chest and glared at the other one.
Smirking, Kaoru began to ask questions in the foreign language, deliberately using complicated sentences to see how far the other one was really. Die's answers were half-hearted and for some time, the older teen only listened to him. But then, he shook his head. "Stop it!" He glared at the redhead on his side. "Look, I'm not eager to do this either, but your mom pays money for this and don't you think you owe her some respect by trying your best?"
"Maybe if you stopped being such a prick I might give it more effort!" The redhead snapped, frowning seriously. "From the first moment you saw me you've kept giving me the cold stare and I'm tired of it."
"You imagine things," the older teen shrugged. "I never gave you anything. I was only pissed because you splashed me with water, but I somehow can't help the feeling that it's YOU who can't get over that."
"Look, I apologized and you called me an idiot. That's not exactly something to go with good manners, Mr Perfect." Die was still frowning but inwardly he thought if it was true that he was imagining things.
"What did you just call me?" Kaoru glared at his counterpart and if looks could kill, Die would've dropped dead instantly. "I already told you, I was pissed, period. There's nothing more to that."
"Kyo told me you never snap like that." The redhead spoke without thinking, but didn't let it show when he startled a bit. He wasn't sure if his friend would kill him later for saying that. "But to me you did so there has to be something more to it."
"Fuck it. There's a first time for everything and you just happened to make an anyways stressful day even more shitty and miserable. So stop shittin' with me and shut the fuck up!" As much as Kaoru tried, he couldn't remember using this many swear words in one sentence and that alone made him even angrier, because he indeed never lost his countenance like that.
"So even you have shitty days?" Die rolled his eyes at the statement. "One would think that you'd be perfectly happy in your perfect little life, admired by everyone around you. But fine." He turned his head, looking to the side. "Let's just get to the point so we don't need to spend the whole night here."
Kaoru didn't reply to that, but opened the book and began explaining English grammar. Inwardly, he was fuming though. Why did everybody think he was perfect? He tried his best not to stick out too much, but with the attempt, he seemed to achieve the absolute opposite. So the better and more polite he was, the more people seemed to demand from him. Maybe he shouldn't let somebody like Die agitate him so much and rather just do his job and help him pass his courses, nothing more, but nothing less either.
The mood stayed awkward throughout the whole evening and they weren't exactly the closest of friends when Die finally guided Kaoru out of his room. To his horror his mother even had set some tea, practically forcing the polite young man to stay for a moment to have tea and cookies. It was hard for Die to suppress his anger when his mother kept on praising Kaoru after he had left, as he had surely left a good impression behind.
It stayed like that during their next meeting, but one day, Kaoru seemed to be very stressed and looked quite exhausted. He didn't complain, didn't even mention it but it was clearly written across his features that something must have happened which had robbed him his sleep. It made Die curious and the next day at school, he instantly asked Kyo about it. But the small blonde had no idea and only shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe he has begun to take even more students or there's something at the council going wrong," he uttered, chuckling a bit as he found it amusing that his friend suddenly showed some interest.
The truth was that Die was a compassionate person deep down inside, and somehow seeing his tutor stressed out like that had made him think about the whole situation in a completely different way. There was something in Kaoru that made him curious about what was going on inside his head, and he wanted to know what was bothering him. The next time they met Kaoru looked the same, but Die managed to hold back long. When they still had left half of their session he couldn't suppress his curiosity anymore though, and burst out. "You seem to be tired."
"Well, I am," the older teen admitted without explaining further. The neon light of Die's lamp on the desk made him appear even paler than he was usually, but if one looked closely, the hint of a smile ghosted across his lips. "But don't worry, I'm still awake enough to notice your mistakes." The words weren't spoken with the usual cold tone, but there was something silky and smooth in his voice, something the redhead had never noticed before.
To his surprise, Die actually liked the sound of that voice a hell lot and he couldn't help that a small smile appeared on his lips. "I didn't doubt that." For a moment he was silent, but then went on tentatively. "You must be having an awfully strict schedule with all the people you're tutoring..."
"Trying to ditch the rest of the lesson?" the older teen asked smirking. Then, he leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head. "Well, it's not the coaching lessons that are problematic," he admitted finally. For a moment, he seemed to ponder if he should explain further, but then decided against it. "I just need exceptionally much sleep at the moment."
"Maybe you're simply pushing yourself too hard?" the redhead suggested innocently, eager to get the conversation going. He had never seen this side of Kaoru, and he was curious, more than that. "Ever considered taking it easy for a while?"
"I can't." Kaoru shook his head firmly. "And I don't want to." He was shifting in his place, feeling a bit uneasy being questioned like that. Very much to his own surprise though he was certain that Die didn't mean to tease him, that he was genuinely trying to offer some comfort. He must look more terrible than he had thought...
"Just don't burn yourself out." Die offered a soft smile, not pushing the issue any further. This was already a huge step forwards from their previously cold relationship, and he didn't want to ruin it by being too annoying right now.
Still a bit uncomfortable with the situation, Kaoru asked him for something to drink and afterwards, they went on with the exercises as before. The tension in the room had changed drastically though as both students began to feel more relaxed around each other.
Neither of them could deny that it was far nicer once they didn't feel like strangling each other anymore. Slowly Die began to even look forward to the tutoring sessions, although he would've never ever admitted it to Kyo or anyone else at that.
Still, the blonde seemed to get suspicious since Die's usual rants about Kaoru stayed away the following day after his lesson. "So are you becoming best friends now?" Kyo teased during lunch-break. The two had made it a habit to try to steal away from the crowd as there always were some girls who wanted to be close to the handsome redhead who was so good at sports and was secretly known as the new captain of their baseball team.
"Hardly," Die laughed, shaking his head instantly. "We're getting along now though. He's kinda a cool guy in his own way," he admitted, shrugging a bit.
"Cool?" The blonde tilted his head, frowning. "Are you having a fever or did they brainwash you or what?"
That earned him a hit on his arm from the redhead. "Come on, midget, you told me yourself that he's alright. Don't be so surprised that I agree. I'm not THAT thick headed."
"Not??" Kyo laughed. "C'mon, every time I said he's okay, you told me how much you hated his guts." He shook his head, shoving a huge spoon of some indefinable pie into his mouth. "But he really is. If only he wasn't this uptight."
"He still looks friggin' stressed. Last time he almost fell asleep on my physics book right in the middle of everything." Die shrugged. "I know it's none of my business but he looks like he's killing himself with work."
"He does," the blonde nodded contemplatively. "Maybe it has something to do with Tatsuo visiting them. My mom told me about it." He was speaking as if he assumed that his words would make sense for Die and as if he finally had understood why Kaoru was so tired.
"Tatsuo?" Die arched an eyebrow, turning to look curiously at his friend. "And who might he be?"
"Oh, you don't know?" Kyo scratched his neck, chuckling a bit. "That's Kaoru's older brother. He studies in Tokyo at Todai... If you know what that means."
Die's eyes widened and he let out a commendatory whistle, nodding at the words. "Does it mean he has pressure because the older brother is so good?"
"Man, if you think Kaoru's mere existence is pressuring us, that's nothing compared to what Tatsuo is to him. Tatsuo is EVERYBODY's darling. Go and ask teachers about him, ask anybody, he's known like a coloured cow around here. He's been the student's council too and the captain of the wrestling-team. Didn't you ever hear his name before? Are you living in oblivion or what?"
"I did know he was in the wrestling team," Die admitted, nodding slowly. "But I never paid much attention to the council things... and he's a lot older than us, isn't he?"
"Yeah. He's 25 now, I think, dropped out of school 6, no 7 years ago. And yes, he skipped one whole year because his grades were so good," Kyo explained, a cheerless grin tugging his lips. "I think that's the reason why he pressures himself so much."
"Man, I have to say that I don't envy Kaoru." The redhead sounded truly compassionate. "Being at someone's shadow constantly like that must be hard..." Only now he understood why Kaoru had looked so angry, even hurt when he had called him 'Mr Perfect' on several occasions before.
"Don't tell him you know it from me, okay?" Kyo asked his friend. "He would kill me, 'cause he doesn't even want to admit that that's his problem. But then," a dry chuckle escaped his lips, "how could he? Tatsuo never did something to him. At least not as far as I know. He's just perfectly polite and friendly to everybody."
"Just like Kaoru is," Die pointed out smirking. He patted his friend's shoulder though, nodding at him. "But don't worry, I won't tell him I know it, at least from you."
"Thanks. He doesn't like it when one talks about him behind his back. I mean when friends do that," the smaller one uttered smiling. "Maybe it's because he's used to others spreading rumors or so."
"I understand that. But man, it's so hard to know anything about him otherwise since he doesn't tell anything himself." The redhead stood up already as they had to slowly get going to the next class.
Kyo followed and although he liked to eat, he had left half of his food untouched as it had simply been too disgusting. "Man, I wished my mom could cook like yours..."
After they had left the cafeteria, he grabbed Die's wrist to stop his tracks. "Since everybody's only shallowly interested in Kaoru, he doesn't trust people much, you know. And then there's the stress with catching up with his brother. But every once in a while, he proves that he's human too. At least he did when I got him drunk once." The blonde seemed to be proud of this and laughed heartily before he slapped his friend's shoulder and walked off through another corridor as they had different lessons.
The redhead chuckled and couldn't help but to consider if it'd be possible to get the older teenager drunk once just to see how he'd be then. He had the feeling that he was slowly getting past the cold shell Kaoru had built up around himself. Maybe not completely but at least they were talking now, even on friendly terms instead of the cold war that had been going on in the beginning. If it hadn't been for the bloody studying he might've even enjoyed the tutoring hours.
The more time they spent together though, the more relaxed Kaoru was around the redhead and he even seemed to be enjoying the moments. Through some weird history book, they found out that they liked the same anime series and talked about it a bit which seemed to get them closer still.
One day though, Kaoru didn't come. There was no call, no explanation, but the next day at school, he was missing too and rumors went on that he was hospitalized, deadly sick.
As much as Die wouldn't have wanted to admit it, the whole situation freaked him out. Kaoru had seemed so stressed lately and he couldn't help but to worry, whether he wanted or not. Carefully he tried to ask Kyo if he knew anything about it, trying not to look to eager or too interested though. "Hey Kyo!" He patted the small blonde's shoulder to gain his attention. "Seen Kaoru around?"
Kyo looked up and nodded, but then again shook his head. "Yeah, well no. He hasn't come to my last coaching lesson, so my mom called his mom and she told him that he's having a fever or so." He shrugged his shoulders. "Weird. He has never been ill all the time. I mean he has, but he still came to school and fulfilled all his duties."
"Thanks man. I've gotta catch the maths lesson. See ya later." Die flashed his friend a smile and headed off. He didn't go to the maths lesson though, not although he knew that he should. He wasn't even sure what made him this worried, but he just had the total urge to see Kaoru with his own two eyes to see he wasn't dying.
He did have Kaoru's home address as he had gotten it in case he'd need it, but still he didn't even realize where he was going before he actually found himself in front of the house. That was the point when he hesitated. What could he say? 'Hi Kaoru, you don't even like me but I was worried that you were dying so I had to check up on you'? Slowly he turned, thinking that he'd still probably have the time to flee the scenery.
At that moment, the door opened and Kaoru stood in the frame, wearing a pair of old, torn jeans and an oversized pullover, a garbage bag in his hand. Startled, he almost dropped it, but then furrowed his brows, examining the taller boy thoroughly. "What are you doing here?" The cold undertone was back in his voice and Die had no idea why. "Look, I'm sorry about skipping your lesson, but we'll repeat it."
"No, it's not that." Die raised his hands, shaking his head instantly. "I didn't come because of that." He hesitated, biting his lower lip and thought what he should say. In the end he couldn't come up with anything though and had to babble out the truth, as weird as it sounded. "It's just that you disappeared so totally and everyone knows you never skip a lesson and people said you were dying and really sick and even Kyo didn't know anything about where you are and what's up so I..." He averted his gaze and his voice grew so faint he was pretty sure the other boy didn't hear him anymore. "...was worried."
For a few seconds, Kaoru didn't move at all, only stared at him some kind of bewildered. He didn't know what to say, had no idea how to react to something like that. Suddenly, he shook his head though and walked past the redhead, throwing the trash into the bin outside in the garden. Already back in the door, he asked. "Want to come inside?" Yet didn't turn around.
Again the younger teenager hesitated but then thought that what would he have to lose? He had already skipped his maths lesson and made a fool of himself so he could as well still follow the invitation too. "If it's not a bother..."
"You're here anyways, right?" A faint smile appeared on Kaoru's lips, but the other boy couldn't see it. He simply walked off, assuming Die would follow him. "Kaoru? Is there somebody at the door?" his mother shouted from the kitchen. "It's just a friend from school mom. He's bringing me my homework."
That made Die smile, and quickly he followed the older boy into the house. It was big and looked like it belonged to a wealthy family, and for a second Die just looked around with slightly widened eyes. Soon he remembered his manners though, snapping back to reality. "So," he gave Kaoru a tentative smile, tilting his head a bit. "Apparently you aren't dying after all." His eyes were sparkling.
The answer was a soft smile, although there was a hint of tiredness laced in it. "C'mon, let's get into my room." Kaoru led Die up the stairs to a room that exceeded Die's by far. It was neat and tidy, no dust particle anywhere. Sighing, the older boy slumped down on his bed, gazing straight at the other one. "No, I'm not dying," he finally answered Die's initial question and if one looked closely there was an amused sparkle somewhere in his eyes. "I'm only ...," he hesitated, but then cut the rest of the sentence, shaking his head.
"Exhausted?" Die threw in his best guess, hesitating a moment beside a sparkling clean armchair before carefully sitting down on the edge of it, as if fearing he'd otherwise break it or make it dirty.
"Kinda," Kaoru admitted nodding, sighing deeply the next moment. Silence fell upon them and both students were eagerly looking into different directions when suddenly the door flung open and Kaoru's mother, a small woman with a perfect figure and a neat costume entered the room. "Sorry to interrupt," she apologized formally, nodding at Die, "but I have to go. Please make sure to tell Tatsuo about the changed schedule, okay? He can take a train earlier. And then you go to bed and sleep early. You can't afford to miss too many lessons now that the exams are so close."
She bent down and gave her son a kiss on the forehead before she turned to face Die. "It's been nice meeting you." Then, she hurried off again. As soon as the door closed, Kaoru raised his middle finger and fell backwards into the cushions with a displeased growl. Only then, he remembered the redhead's presence and instantly blushed a deep red. This hadn't been exactly the Kaoru he presented usually.
"Hey, you're human after all!" Die chuckled, and his eyes were sparkling in a way that showed he meant no harm with the comment. He got a tiny bit more comfortable on the chair, carefully though. "So you've been resting now? You did look like a living dead to be honest. I know it's not my business though..."
"It really isn't." Despite his attempt to sound harsh, Kaoru didn't have the needed strength to argue at that moment, but he also didn't tell Die the real reason why he had ditched the coaching lesson and school. For a moment, he looked at the redhead intensely until a grin found its way to his lips.
"So, you came here because you were worried about me? Wanted to make sure I'm really dying or do you have some arsenic hidden in your pocket to help it a bit?" he tried to joke. The fact that Die had said that, something one usually wouldn't say to a senior who wasn't even a friend but only his tutor, caused both of them to be embarrassed a bit and joking was one way to deal with it.
"Not really," Die laughed, scratching his neck embarrassed and averted his gaze down to the carpet. "It was just that I thought 'geez, Kaoru is home sick, hell must be freezing'." He didn't know whether to enjoy the fact that the other teen was actually nice to him and he got to see his room, or be utterly embarrassed about his own actions.
Suddenly, totally out of the blue, the older one asked. "Want to stay and play a round Tekken with me?" There was nothing on his face or his whole countenance that gave away the reason for his question. Only Kaoru knew that he really enjoyed being with the redhead, although there were these awkward moments of silence between them every once in a while.
The immediate reaction from the redhead was surprise and his eyes widened a bit. In mere seconds he got over it though and smiled completely honest. "Sure. I missed the maths class already anyways."
"I know." The older teen nodded grinning. "And that's why we first go through your stuff so that you won't be behind but surprise them all with your knowledge." He grinned maliciously and no matter how much Die whined, he indeed was forced to study before they went over to playing the game. It got late though and at one point, Kaoru jumped up. "Damn! I need to call my brother..."
"Oh, sure. Want me to go?" Die asked automatically, not wanting to be a bother. He had really grown to enjoy the other teen's presence and their playing together, but he still felt somewhat awkward in the big house, not knowing what he was allowed to touch and fearing he'd break something any moment.
Kaoru knew how strangers felt around him and his home, but he had forgotten it and only shook his head. "No need. If you want, we can order some pizza for later, but I first have to call my brother." For some reason, he didn't want Die to leave already, didn't want to be alone in the big house.
"Sure." Die rewarded him with an honest smile, nodding a bit. He didn't even know himself why but he wanted to cling on to the moment and spend more time with Kaoru.
The phone-call didn't take long. Half an hour later, the doorbell rung, showing that Kaoru indeed had ordered them pizza. Sitting on the clean floor of his room before the running TV, they ate hungrily, drank coke and other than that, remained more or less silent. Somehow, they didn't manage to get a flowing conversation going, but neither of them cared that much. For Die, it was special to see Kaoru, school's Mr. Perfect, so very private, relaxed even and he couldn't help the thought that the other student didn't look as if he had had a fever. Kaoru on the other hand enjoyed the company, to have somebody there who didn't seem to have any expectations in him but just to be himself.
After the pizza was gone they managed to even get a some sort of conversation going, be it only commenting on some stupid characters on the TV-show they were watching. Still it was nice somehow, and they both felt more at ease at each other's presence than ever before. The mood was so nice that after a long time Die dared to speak up, setting his question carefully as he didn't want to agitate his newly found friend. "How long are you going to stay away from school now? I mean, mom always says one has to rest until the sickness is completely gone and all, and I thought..."
"... that I should do that too?" Kaoru completed his sentence. He was lying on his side on the floor, but now turned on his back, tilting his head so that he could look the other teen straight in the eyes. "I'll be back at school tomorrow. I don't want to skip too many lessons."
"I bet it wouldn't even be bad if you did, you know." The redhead offered a smile. "You're so clever, you could catch up easily even if you stayed away several days."
The words made the older one laugh cheerlessly. "It might be a big revelation for you, but I do have to study for my good grades. If I miss too many lessons, I would have to study more and then I will have even more str-" Before he finished the sentence, he cut it off, shaking his head. "What am I saying? You can't understand that anyways."
"Hey," Die frowned, more or less seriously. He shifted a bit closer though, was even tempted to touch the other boy's shoulder but pulled his hand back nevertheless. "I might not be a straight A student but I still know how it is to be stressed out. Not that I would've been there often but..." He admitted with a small chuckle. Somehow he desperately wanted to make the other feel better, but didn't know how.
"... but you think you know how I feel, right?" To Kaoru, it was oddly sweet to see how the redhead tried to understand him, tried to be compassionate. It was even a bit suspicious as if Die was a spy sent by his aunt or mother or so. "Don't worry, Die. I survived this far, I will survive till the holidays too." He gave the other student an honest smile, but simply didn't want to discuss this further with him.
"I - Alright." Die nodded, swallowing the words that had first been about to escape him. "Just take care of yourself. I know it sounds so corny coming from me," He chuckled a bit. "but I mean it. I need to pass those courses still and can't lose my tutor." He added with a wink.
"Well, if that's your concern, I can assure you that you'll pass your damn courses. Even if I'll have to kick your ass to do it."
They kept on talking for a bit longer still, but then it was time for Die to leave. The moment at the door was awkward again and first, the redhead only wanted to wave his hand, but then, the older teen surprised him, by grabbing it, giving him a firm handshake. "See you tomorrow, Die." Kaoru smiled.
Indeed, Kaoru was back at school the next day. It seemed like he hadn't been sick at all, but somehow the rumor spread that the student council had a secret love-affair, that somebody had visited him the day before. Nobody knew where it had come from, but Kyo was grinning widely when he approached Die before their next history-lesson. "So, how does it feel to have an affair with one of the most popular guys at school?" he asked chuckling.
That earned him a slap on the back of his head instantly, and Die grunted displeased. "Fuck you. I wouldn't even be surprised if it was YOU who set out the rumor in the first place just to see me squirm." He wasn't totally serious and even amused by the situation as of course no one knew he had been at Kaoru's house the day before.
"Hey, I would never sacrifice Kao to get you!" Kyo laughed throatily. "But well, fact is that somebody visited him yesterday. Or at least rumors say so." He grabbed the redhead's wrist, pretending to examine his hand. "Those must be magic hands if you managed to save Kaoru from the verge of death."
"What can I say, I have abilities that most people aren't aware of." The redhead winked instantly, laughing the matter off. Of course he had known that rumours spread easily, but exactly HOW easily and how fast had come as a surprise to him.
Nobody addressed him though as the rumors were that Kaoru had seen a girl. Now all of them were in an uproar, asking themselves who the chosen one might be. By early afternoon, everything had calmed down though and as Kyo had promised his friend to go and watch Die's baseball-match, the only remaining question was if their team would be able to beat the team of their rival school.
The blonde had just taken a seat in one of the front rows, showing Die two thumbs up, as he froze. There was Kaoru, casually walking along the rows until he sat down somewhere close to him. His cousin hadn't watched a baseball-match since his brother had dropped out of the team in favor of the wrestling- and basketball-team.
The redhead was totally concentrated on the game and on doing whatever he could to help their team to win. He didn't even notice that his tutor was in the audience. Even if he had noticed it he wouldn't have known what an exceptional thing is was, not completely. The game was halfway through already when he glanced at the audience again, grinning at Kyo who instantly waved at him. His gaze wandered along the lines until he spotted Kaoru though, so surprised that he just acted on instinct and waved a bit at the older teen.
Kaoru lifted his eyebrows, indicating a nod. He smiled at Die though and if the redhead wasn't mistaken, even raised his hand a bit, but didn’t really wave. He sneaked away before the game was over, not waiting to be bothered by anybody. It was certain that their team would win anyways and he knew that it was only because of Die.
The redhead was in an utterly good mood afterwards, still high from the win and even otherwise feeling like he was walking on clouds for some reason. As he reached Kyo who had stayed to wait for him he instantly grabbed him into a hug although it wasn't common for them to do. "Did you see THAT! We so totally beat their asses!"
Pulling a disgusted face, the blonde pushed him away, smoothing down his clothes in a theatrical manner. "I saw that. You were amazing, BUT that's no reason to make everybody think we're playing for the other team, right." His laughter nullified the meaning of his words though and he slapped Die's shoulder friendly. "And you even had royal visit."
"I noticed." Die nodded a few times, and it was pretty clear how surprised he was. "I thought first he was there with you, but he sat the whole time a few benches away."
"With me?" Kyo laughed. "Hey, usually nothing, I really mean nothing, is able to drag Kaoru to a sports-game. His excuse is that it's beneath him, but I say it's because his bro spoiled the fun for him."
"He really does have a huge complex because of his brother, right?" The redhead frowned thoughtfully. "Funny. And I used to think that everything is fine in his life..."
"Don't ever mention that word before him, you hear me!" Kyo became serious. "The guy who last did that earned himself a black-eye. He doesn't want to admit to himself how much trouble his brother brought to him. I think it's because he can't do anything against it but to try to be at least as good as Tatsuo."
"Don't worry, I'm not suicidal. But I think it's sad." Die shrugged, chewing on his lower lip. "I mean, the guy uses his whole life chasing something he thinks he's supposed to be."
"Don't you know how that is?" Like natural, the small blonde followed his friend into the locker rooms, ignoring the complaints of the other players and the insinuating remarks. "I think he doesn't have a brother-complex but more an acceptance-problem," he shrugged casually as if he had figured everything out in his mind.
"It might be, I have no idea. But then again, I have no idea why he's not simply content since everyone seems to adore him anyways," the redhead went on casually, trying not to show how much he had really thought about the matter. "Although, I suppose it's a different thing since people just worship him from afar..."
"It's like a bubble that keeps him safe, but also keeps everybody away from him." The blonde sighed, plopping down on the bench as he watched Die take off his clothes to shower. Suddenly though, Kyo tilted his head, his eyes sparkling curiously. "So he caught you in his web now too?"
That made Die startle and he stopped in a mid-movement, turning to look at his friend from slightly widened eyes. "Whaddya mean?"
"Nothing." Kyo shook his head, grinning and then nodded towards the showers. "Now get cleaned and let's go to the arcade. I want to show you the only reason why your team won today was that I didn't play for the other side."
"Like you'd ever be able to do that, midget." Chuckling Die reached to ruffle his friend's hair, knowing how much he hated it, and followed the order to quickly get to the shower and cleaned up. Kyo's kick missed him only by an inch. He and the small blonde spent a nice evening at the arcade and despite his declaration, Die won most of the games they chose to play.
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Oh my, yeah, the stereotype Kyo. I know him and we aren't friends x) We try to keep our characters unique in a way and I really like a Kyo that makes me laugh better than one who's pissed off because his friend calls him a dwarf^^ I have to admit though that it's hard to escape these things at times without making a character totally unbelievable.
Oh, wo ich gerade dran denke... Dein Tee-Tree, du hattest mir mal angeboten, mir die große Version zu geben. Würdest du das immer noch machen?
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It somehow pisses me off how it seems that all Japanese people wanna study there. ^^;
I don't either what one should do to be accepted. I just know that there are around 3500 foreign people and that for a foreign student your studies must be perfect. ^^;
If I write a FF
like... once a year *lol* I try to not used stereotypes, too. It's just really hard sometimes, because I've read them all the time and it's difficult to get them out of my head. So congrats that it's possible for you to go away from those stereotypes! ^^~
Wie gross willst du es haben? oo? Ich kann dir riesig bis ganz gross anbieten. ^^;
Und in welchem Dateiformat? oo? Wo soll ich es hinschicken?
Tee-Tree hoert sich genial an. xD
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Well, it's not easy to let go of stereotypes either. But it's like with stories. Everything has been written already and I always think I read everything, no matter how often it has been made already, as long as it's well written and has something special. It's so funny how we always use the biggest chlichés and still it feels like we manage to make a different story out of it, eh? And I think it's the same with characters. We just make them as we like them best, I think. And luckily neither fonulyn nor I like a wrist-cutting Kyo really unless we would need it for a story but we would never make it the main aspect of it.
Haha, gross XD Format ist mir egal, aber JPG wäre toll. Ich will's mir ausdrucken und in die Küche hängen (denke ich). wohin? Meine Email addi. floragunn[at]gmx[punkt]de
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It just happened that I still know it~
Ok, I checked all the partner universities of my university in Japan and came to the conclusion that I should have studied in Berlin~
Sometimes I get tired of some FFs. That's the reason I began to read J-Pop FFs.
and now I even like that music! damn itYour FFs are still some of the best I've ever read. ^^~
So you're doing a great great job!
Ok, geschickt. ^^~
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And thank you so much for the nice compliment. We really try our best and I know that our fics aren't perfect or something but we always make them so that we would like to read them too so maybe that's the secret?
Und Daaaaanke!
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Now it no more a secret. xD
At the moment I just know that I'm looking forward to read the next chapter of this FF here~
Koenntest du mir ein Foto machen, sobald es bei dir irgendwo haengt?
Wuerde ich gerne sehen. ^^;
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Oh klar mach ich das. Ich muß jetzt erstmal gucken auf welche Größe ich das ziehen lasse und wo ich das mache. Entweder als Fotodruck oder bei Staples als Farbkopie^^