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part: 1
"A lot of a horror stories start out this way," Daisuke said conversationally, ducking under the string of barbed wire Takeru held up for him. "How so?" asked Takeru, letting the wire bounce back into place and following Daisuke. "Oh, you know; couple of kids, middle of the night," Daisuke elaborated, "An abandoned...um, well, field in this case." He made a dramatic arm gesture over the tight cluster of suburban homes. "And there's an abandoned warehouse just a few streets over and you *know* how dangerous *those* are! Potentially filled with axe wielding murderers or maybe legions of the undead looking for a meal!" Takeru sighed, sidestepping a thick cluster of weeds. "Daisuke, it's barely eight o'clock, hardly the middle of the night. Besides, we *always* cut through here on our way home. This area is perfectly safe." "But the warehouse---" "Was only 'abandoned' last month and is currently being renovated," Takeru said, "Give it up." Daisuke pouted, hunching under the weight of his backpack. "You always spoil my fun," he whined. Takeru only laughed at him. They crossed the field and left it to join the little footpath that ran behind the houses, heading in a diagonal fashion for their own apartments. Their parents had been friends since high school and had lived in the same apartment complex for over ten years. The two boys weren't the best of friends, but they had fun together and provided company when traveling home after a late basketball practice (or football practice in Daisuke's case). "What's got you thinking about horror stories anyways?" Takeru said. Daisuke turned serious eyes onto the taller boy. "That new freshman is a werewolf," he said with complete sincerity. Takeru stared at him before laughing. "Hida?" he demanded, sniggering, "The short brunette that all the teachers love and think is Gods gift of the perfect student? The one that just kinda cowered when the senior started razing him?" Takeru shook his head. "That doesn't seem like typical werewolf behavior." "I bet it's a front," Daisuke said, frowning thoughtfully, completely unperturbed by Takeru's scorn. He was used to other people not agreeing with his ideas. Just went to show how oblivious everyone else was. "I mean, if you were some evil monster, would you go around announcing it?" "No, maybe not," Takeru conceded after a moments thought, "But that doesn't mean I'd go around letting people beat me up either. Cause that way, you're still noticeable. See, if I was one of the evil undead, I would try to blend in as much as possible." "Werewolves aren't undead, just evil," Daisuke said with the weariness of someone who knows everything and is bored of everyone else's ignorance. "But I'm right, aren't I?" Daisuke frowned at him. "That's assuming you'd *know* how to blend in. Some werewolves are born that way; what if they never learn how to interact with humans? They'd always be a freak wherever they go." "Then why send them to human school?" Takeru said, smirking. "How should I know?" Daisuke demanded, shoving the blond boy when he started to chuckle. "Do I look like a werewolf to you?" Takeru walked backwards, eyeing the shorter redhead critically. "Hmm..." "Hey, shut up!" Daisuke yelled, aiming a punch that was cheerfully dodged. Soon, their apartment complex loamed up before them, a dark square against the star speckled sky. There was a brief fight over who got to unlock the door, of which Daisuke was the ultimate victor, before the pair charged inside. They ignored the elevator, racing each other up the stairs at full speed. Daisuke was in the lead. He looked over his shoulder at the lagging Takeru. "Loser! You call yourself a---ooof!" He slammed into the person who'd been walking down the stairs. The sudden impact knocked their feet out from under them, making them land hard on the treads and start to slither down. Daisuke twisted and lashed out, grabbing the railing to keep from sliding further. He found himself leaning over the other person, a boy no older than himself, who tilted his head up to look at Daisuke. Before an apology could spill out, he was instantly trapped by a pair of fathomless violet eyes. There was forever in those eyes. Beautiful, mysterious, and breathtakingly dangerous. Amused eyes; they read his soul and fond it lacking. In that moment, Daisuke felt more worthless and insignificant than he'd had in his entire life previously. A voice came to him from a great distance, nothing against the force of that vast gaze. Then, the eyes moved, releasing him. "Daisuke! Don't just lay there!" Takeru was saying, and Daisuke felt his friend's hands around his upper arm, dragging him backwards. "Are you okay?" he asked, addressing both Daisuke and his victim. "Fine," Daisuke mumbled, shaking off his daze. The other boy was rising gracefully to his feet, long dark hair hanging over his face. "I'm all right, just startled," the boy said, brushing off his jacket with slim hands. He was almost as tall as Takeru and thinner, with a pretty, narrow face framed by chin length bangs. Daisuke felt his body stir in response to the boy's beauty and flushed in confusion. What was this? "Are you sure, you took a pretty hard fall," Takeru said, pulling Daisuke out of the way. Daisuke scowled at being manhandled and violently shook off Takeru's hands. What, Takeru mouthed at him in bafflement. The indigo haired boy smiled slowly, his elegantly slanted eyes glimmering with humor. "Trust me, I'm fine." He extended one pale hand. "My name is Ken," he said. Daisuke reached past Takeru and took Ken's hand before the blond could. He shook it firmly. "Motomiya Daisuke. I'm really sorry about running into you like that, 'fraid I wasn't paying attention. Kind of a natural state for me. Oh yeah, and this is Takaishi Takeru." The last said dismissively. Ken's smile broadened as he accepted Takeru's hand next. "How do ya do," murmured Takeru, staring at Ken. Their handshake seemed to linger longer than necessary. Daisuke felt an irrational surge of jealousy. Damnit, Takaishi was ruining his chances at impressing the new kid! "So, are you new here?" Daisuke asked with his usual energy, nudging Takeru aside to get closer to Ken. "I didn't notice anyone moving in recently, but I'm sure I haven't seen you around before." Ken shook his head. "Visiting friends. I live...somewhere else." Another slow, enigmatic smile that heated the blood in Daisuke's veins. It made him fidget nervously; he'd never had this sort of reaction to another guy before. "Yeah, uh, well it's a good building I guess," Daisuke babbled, "I mean, the people who live here don't have any complaints. Neither do I! 'Cause you know, I live here too. Hey, you watch football?" He finished desperately. He could hear, just *hear* Takeru rolling his eyes. "Yes. I even play it occasionally," said Ken, swaying close enough to Daisuke that the redhead could feel his breath on his lips. It sent a shiver through his body. He leaned back uneasily, frightened by the feeling. Takeru instantly shifted to fill the space. "What about basketball?" "Hmm, not so much," Ken shrugged, and Daisuke had the satisfaction of seeing Takeru's face fall. "But I'll watch any sport with the right...motivation." He let the word trail off suggestively, then continued on smoothly. "Not to offend, but I need to get going. It was nice to meet you Takeru, Daisuke." "Oh right sure sorry," the two babbled over each other's words, plastering themselves against the wall to keep from interfering with the royal boy's passage. "Be seeing you," Ken promised silkily as he walked down the steps. They watched him go breathlessly, rushing to peer over the edge of the railing when he descended out of sight. A short while later, they heard the front door open and close. Minutes passed. Daisuke shifted in discomfort. What the hell was he doing? Staring after that guy like some...some...some love sick *girl*! He glanced at Takeru the same time Takeru glanced at him. Their eyes met---and both burst into forced, nervous laughter. "Race ya!" Daisuke blurted as the awkward sound tapered off. He set off for his apartment, disregarding Takeru's feeble warnings to be careful.
"Totally a werewolf," Daisuke muttered to himself, chewing half-heartedly at the tasteless school issued lunch. At the other end of the cafeteria sat the freshman, Hida Iori, mechanically eating his bento and not looking at anything going on around him. "Look at those shifty eyes and that snarling face. Who does he think he's fooling?" Daisuke grinned at his awesome observational skills. His tablemates were involved in dissecting the latest action movie, something Daisuke only partially listened to. He hadn't seen it yet and didn't want the plot ruined. Eventually, he grew tired of eyeing the school werewolf, letting his attention wander about the room. He spotted Takeru, sitting contentedly in the middle of his fan club. Which mostly consisted of guys from the basketball team and girls who wanted to date guys on the basketball team. Sad, really. The girl sitting next to him gestured wildly, drawing Daisuke's attention to her hand. Light flickered off one finger; she was wearing a ring with some purple stone. What was it called? Amethyst. Nice color. It reminded him of something...yeah, a pair of eyes. Beautiful, slanted eyes in a flawless face. A face with an elegant mouth that curved sensuously as its owner smirked at him. He found himself staring as it came closer to him, exhaling sweet breath that made his skin tingle. Arms slid around his neck and a soft, warm weight settled into his lap. Those wine red lips ghosted past the sensitive line of his jaw as the dark head bowed toward him. Daisuke sighed low and leaned back, a hot flush of lounging rising through his body and making his toes curl. The arms tightened, drawing him closer to the sleek curve of a lithe, toned body. Midnight dark hair brushed his cheek and his squeezed his eyes closed in desperation when wet heat glided along the base of his neck -- "Daisuke!" His chair was shoved hard, nearly knocking him to the floor. Daisuke sat up fast, gripping the edge of the table to keep from falling over. He was still in the school cafeteria, surrounded by his friends. His lap was empty. The girl who'd shook him was laughing, hand coming up to cover her mouth. "Daisuke you dork, you fell asleep!" "Uhh," he said, dazed. He'd been dreaming? It had felt so real! A blush splashed across his cheeks to realize he'd been having *that* kind of dream at school. "Heh heh, guess I didn't get enough sleep last night. Probably cause my stupid sister snored all -- " Daisuke had been reaching up to rub at the tingle on the side of his neck and now he froze as fingers encountered a damp smear just above his collarbone. Cold shock jolted down his spine and coiled sickly in his stomach. Mumbling a hasty excuse, he pushed away from the table and ran from the lunchroom, not slowing down until he reached the boy's restroom. The stall door cracked into the graffiti covered wall as he fell to his knees in front of the toilet and brought up his lunch. "Ugh," he groaned after the heaves had stopped and leaned his aching head against the wall, "What the hell was that." His face felt hot and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He hadn't had an attack like this in years, not since he was eight and the demonic soul-eater had besieged his elementary school for weeks. (Said soul-eater being a gawky and painfully shy middle-school aged boy with a stutter who'd been doing community service in Daisuke's class.) The doctors had called them "panic attacks" and prescribed drugs that his father pushed on him with relief and his mother cheerfully flushed down the toilet whenever her husband's back was turned. Daisuke wiped his mouth again and sat up straight, pushing the handle to send the ugly mess right down the drain. "Gotta be the werewolf," he muttered, "Evil things are always messing with people." A thought occurred. "That asshole, he's probably trying to eat my soul too!" Not that he'd ever heard of werewolves eating souls, but it was hard to tell the depth the Legions of Darkness would go to. He went to the cracked porcelain sink to wash his face and rinse the bile out of his mouth. The first burst of cold water was a relief, clearing away some of the fuzziness and soothing the throbbing in his head. He gurgled loudly and spat, looking up at the mirror to see how his hair had weathered the experience. Exotic purple eyes framed by pale skin gleamed at him darkly from the distorted glass, wine red lips lifting over white teeth. "Shit!" He threw himself back from the sink and crashed into the nearest bathroom stall, sliding down to the floor. A few quick pants, and then he yelled brazenly, "It's not going to work, you jerk! I'm not scared at all!" The door into the restroom opened suddenly and Daisuke nearly jumped out of his skin. Takeru stood holding the door open with one hand, hair ablaze with the light of the sun, expression confused and slightly concerned. "You okay, Daisuke? I saw you run out earlier." He stepped in to offer the fallen boy his hand. It took Daisuke a moment to let go from where he'd grabbed over his heart in sudden terror and accept the help up. "Yeah," he said and swallowed as his stomach gave a threatening roll, "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess the leftovers from breakfast suddenly caught up with me. I knew those boiled eggs tasted funny..." "Spare me the details," Takeru said with a grimace, waving his hand, "You sure you don't want to go to the school nurse?" "Nah, I'm okay. Besides, she'd make me hang around the office all day because my parents told the school not to let me go home sick anymore," Daisuke said, pushing past Takeru and heading out into the hall. "About time they wised up," Takeru said dryly and followed him. Despite his assurances of being all right, Daisuke spent the rest of the day feeling out of sorts and uncomfortable, like an indefinable itch right where he couldn't scratch it. His mind kept drifting back to the face he'd seen in the mirror and earlier in the cafeteria; something about it was disturbingly familiar and the thought that he'd seen it before, and it had left enough of an impression to imprint on his painfully poor memory, disturbed him greatly. Among other things, it certainly put an added edge to the usual daily joy of attending high school. He and Takeru made it home early after final period, as neither of them had practice that afternoon, and dinner at the Motomiya residence was as loud and active as always. Daisuke ended up in a shouting match with his mother about the televised football game from last week; a fight that had them on their feet and leaning over the table to get into each other's faces. Both his mother and sister supported teams he hated, and vise versa, so each football season their home became a battleground. His father watched it all in mild bemusement and his sister Jun threw in unneeded side comments. Once the table had been cleared, they engaged in the nightly conflict over what one-hour show they got to watch before bed which ended as it always did -- with his father taking the remote and turning the news on. Daisuke fell asleep within the first ten minutes, rousing only when Jun kicked him in the head. Later, face washed and teeth brushed, Daisuke fell into bed and rolled over into the arms of the person waiting for him.
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