RP Log-- Kenya, Yuushi

[lying_resonance]

Who: Oshitari Kenya & Oshitari Yuushi
Where: Dawn Dorm, and then later Yuushi's room (203)
When: 6-11-09
What: Yuushi announces his arrival to Kenya finally, and then proceeds to tease his cousin into losing his temper, blushing like mad, and digging an exceptionally deep hole for himself. All evils he made up for with a massage to ease the headache that had Kenya on edge in the first place.
Warnings: Kissing cousins? (No, really. >.>)
Rating: PG-13
Comments: Yes?


If heads could explode his was in danger of doing it, Kenya thought as he trekked his way into the Dawn Dorm. He had spent the last few hours at the spot he shared with Saeki trying to study but something about the English language gave him a headache in trying to understand it. Not that he hated the language because he didn’t. No, he loved it and was quite fluent for one who had never actually been to America or any other country where it was the native tongue, even if he had plans to someday. Yet there was something about trying to remember the rules for words such as lay, lie, passed, and past that made him grind to a halt and wonder what the fuck?

Jesus, did they have to make it all so confusing?

He thought they did. In fact, he was fairly sure that someone in the past had sat around a burning fire with his buddies plotting just how to make future generations break their brains. He also bet the jerks had laughed their asses off over it, too. Which had nothing to do with why he was heading back to his room earlier than planned except in an offhanded way.

His head was killing him. Beneath the wild tumble of bleach blonde that Kenya sported temples throbbed and a million little men danced around beneath the surface driving ice picks into his brain. Lately, he’d been avoiding his room after learning that his roommate, Zaizen Hikaru, was uncomfortable having him around. The guy didn’t like his moods, which for anyone else wouldn’t be a problem since moods usually came and went but not Kenya’s. His hung around like a bad penny and grudges were held until he was damn well ready to let them go. And that would have been all well and good, except for one little thing-- -he felt like a friggen monster driving someone out of what was their home for all intents and purposes, no matter how short a period of time.

Now, he was headed back to the room he normally wouldn’t have stepped foot in, until his roommate was well on his way to being asleep because his fucking head hurt and he knew there had to be something in the bathroom cabinet to get rid of the pain. Granted, it was probably Zaizen’s but if his roommate wanted to get bitchy about him borrowing a friggen painkiller than he’d just buy the guy a new bottle. So went the thoughts of one very distracted blonde moving down the main corridor, his feet dragging him unerringly in the direction of his room.

Oshitari Yuushi had always considered himself an incredibly patient young man, but honestly, what was taking Kenya so long? The little dime-romance in his hand was keeping his attention only so much, and it was rather troublesome having to look up everytime he heard approaching footsteps. Until, of course, his ears picked up a particularly sluggard pace and, possibly through some miracle of sharing the same blood, he knew it was Kenya.

He had never actually intended his little joke of keeping out of his cousin’s sight going for so long, and he didn’t particularly look forward to coming in contact with the eloquent Ibu Shinji who had already told him off once for the torment and, all things considered, would most likely do so again very soon. And the phone call from Kenya’s mother telling Yuushi to look after him, he seems bothered by something worried him more than he’d admit; one way or another, the dark haired boy was quite… protective.

He waited for the blonde to appear, looking quite disgruntled, he noticed, and put his book away. Finally. “Evening, Ken-chan.”

Kenya, unaware of his cousin lurking in his chosen vantage point, jumped with an undignified screech. If not for the name that was called he would have possibly (yeah, right) been scared. As it was that hated nickname soon chased away his embarrassment over being caught unawares and the mortification over the sound he swore did NOT come from his mouth. He turned in a single fluid motion, mouth opening to snarl out, “Don’t call me Ken-cha…. You!”

Yuushi chuckled, arms folded lightly as he stepped forward, quite unable to keep this smirk from his features at that -delightful- vocalization of absolute alarm. “Me,” he confirmed, already anticipating a rather fiercer greeting to follow, if the play of expressions across the boy's features was anything to go by. His voice remained teasing, just the same, “I heard you were pining, Ken-chan, and I just couldn’t stay away.”

Kenya blushed from the roots of his hair straight to his neck, face turning an alarming shade of red quickly followed by blue as his lungs forgot to work during the shock of coming face to face with his cousin. “You… Wha… I was not pining!” he finally managed to stammer out, body suddenly set into motion by several things at once.

First, that hated nickname that always made him feel like Yuushi was looking down on him, which really was quite enough to spark off the temper that sent his fist flying when he rushed toward his cousin. Second, the realization that all the sights around the school that had made him believe he was losing his hold on his sanity must have been Yuushi and must have been deliberately staged to prank him.

The smug son of bitch had gotten one over on him this time and that was as annoying as the Ken-chan that he always drawled out in that sexy little purr of sound that made his hair stand on end.

Sometimes, Kenya could be so wonderfully predictable it made Yuushi wonder at it; as soon as he was done admiring the rapid change of colours on his cousin’s features he knew what was coming and sidestepped just in time to avoid the blow, taking the opportunity to grab a hold of the boy’s arm and pull him close, keeping his wrist captive. “Mm, so you didn’t miss me at all?” he asked, a purred whisper in Kenya’s ear.

“As much as you missed me,” Kenya snapped, jerking his head to the side to get away from the warm breath whispering over his ear.

If there was one thing he could thank the last few months of turmoil and Saeki’s tutoring for it was learning exactly how sensitive his ears were. Not that he was going to ever own up to that air blowing across his ear sending a shiver down his spine or making his neck tingle in ways it ought not to considering it belonged to his fucking cousin of all people!

“Which is none at fucking all!” he denied sharply, giving a tug on his wrist to try and wrench it free. Damn it, he hated when Yuushi managed to avoid his punches. It only made him want to try again and again, until he landed one.

“Temper, temper,” Yuushi teased, holding fast against the boy’s struggles for escape; if he knew him, the moment he let go Kenya was going to try and break his nose again, but that was the fun of it all. “I never said I didn’t miss you, after all, Ken-chan.” It was as well they were in the middle of a dormitory corridor or he might have been sorely tempted to be more risqué, playful as he was feeling at the moment. “In fact, I’ve had a devil of a time keeping myself from you all this while.”

Kenya froze. His struggles to get free ceasing as his cousin’s words drove one truth home.

“So it was you!” he snarled with heated annoyance, head suddenly moving to slam backwards. It was the least Yuushi deserved for making him think he was losing his mind! Like he didn’t already have enough worry about with trying to figure out ways to keep his roommate from feeling uneasy in the room they were supposed to be sharing but one Kenya had been seeing very little of in the weeks since an online discussion enlightened him to the fact that Zaizen felt he had to leave their room to get away from him and his moods.

Not to mention Yuushi was just fucking with him. Teasing him in that honeyed purr that really ought to be fucking illegal for anyone to have, and just because he knew the stuff he was saying would make him blush, the fucking bastard.

“Well of course it was. I never got back to you for your last trip home…” He paused. “Did you think you were hallucinating?” he asked, smirking again and, yes, just saving his nose from another near-breakage experience before swooping down on the boy’s ear again, knowing from experience how sensitive it happened to be. “And you say you didn’t miss me.”

However, the side of Yuushi that wasn’t indulging in wreaking borderline-scandalous torment on his cousin and had a mean protective streak about him noticed that Kenya was in more of a bad mood than his little fun and games could warrant. But he couldn’t really ask him what was wrong at the moment, and that blush on his cheeks was just too hard to resist.

Kenya immediately regretted his impulsive action and not because his cousin had managed to dodge and once get another step ahead of him. No, the cause of his sudden remorse was the sharp shooting pain that raced through his skull attacking every nerve and nearly blinding him with tears he’d never let fall.

Jesus, that fucking hurt! He hated when his head started to ache so badly that the slightest movement set off a network of evil little gnomes picking away at his brain, but lately he got them more often than not. He blamed the stress of dealing with… well, just everything and certainly not the fact that he needed reading glasses. That damn doctor was stupid as hell and he was certainly going for a second opinion somewhere else, see if he didn’t!

“That was definitely brilliant. My best work yet,” he crowed to his cousin forgetting for the moment that he wanted to pound Yuushi’s face in as he other more important things to contend with. The most important of which was hiding the fact that he was feeling less than his best, since he could already imagine how his cousin would pick on him for falling ill. Guys just weren’t supposed to get sick or feel bad, damn it! They were supposed to be tougher than that.

Correction; he was supposed to be tougher than that!

It was while he stood there held captive by one of the tallest of his kin that Kenya debating lying through his teeth and denying how he had thought he was seeing things. Knowing his luck Yuushi would probably be able to call him on the lie, so it was best to forget that route. Blushing furiously despite his decision not to answer the question, he belatedly realized that once again hot air was blowing over his ear. This time it was a long stronger, a lot more measured, and an awful lot like Yuushi was doing it on purpose. Which couldn’t be right but still, it was worth a hoarsely snapped, “Would you fucking stop that!” just in case.

“Don’t wanna,” Yuushi replied, almost lazily, not making an effort to shift his position. “You know you’re only encouraging me being this way...” He trailed off, a slight frown wrinkling his brow as he became aware that Kenya was most certainly bothered by something. He inclined his head to meet the other boy’s heated gaze. “Hmm, something’s wrong.” Not a question, more a statement of fact and in a tone that indicated that denying it would be futile. Yuushi had long since come to terms with the fact that he had the tendency to mother those he cared about, and when it came to his cousin it was more so, mostly because Kenya always took it as a sign that he was being teased or looked down upon. It was easier that way, because it made things a lot less awkward later on. Making a quick decision, he released Kenya’s wrists and took a step back.

“I am not!” Kenya denied wincing when the loudness of his voice sent another wave of pain crashing through his skull. He quickly hurried to cover the small signal that his cousin was right by pursing his lips together in a mulish line and stubbornly denying the accusation. “And there is not!”

Damn, now Yuushi was confusing him with how he quickly backed off leaving him standing and suddenly bereft of the hands that held his wrists captive. He wasn’t the least little peeved about that, either! He was glad to be free, really.

Yuushi folded his arms, giving him a pointed look. “Oh? Isn’t there? I beg to differ, Kenya.” His denial only served to convince him further of the fact, and worry that much more. A wicked smirk twisting his lip, he took a step closer to the blonde. “Or do I have to force it out of you?”

“Cheh, like you can force anything out of me, Yuu.” Kenya countered with a stubborn tilt of his chin and a steely-eyed glare. Who cared that he was out right challenging his cousin? He did it all the time and wasn’t about to change things now. In fact, he did it about as often as he pranked Yuushi, so it was all good in his book. Though, he supposed his cousin wouldn’t find it too pleasing.

He just stopped short of glaring at the light haired boy for being so damn difficult; so he wanted to play, did he? And Yuushi most certainly wasn't one to turn down a challenge- a fact Kenya knew as well as he did. Stubbornness ran in the family, after all. Stepping forward quickly, he thrust a hand out to pin the boy to the wall by a shoulder, looking at him over the top of thin rimmed spectacles from the vantage point of his added height. "I won't hesitate to try," he promised darkly.

Kenya didn’t know how exactly his cousin thought to get it out of him. Hitting him would only make his stubborn refusal to answer more prominent as the past could attest to, so it was a very mulish expression that settled over the face tilted upward to meet Yuushi’s gaze when he was pressed back against the wall and held there with a hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, so?” he challenged without a second thought, so smug in his belief that Yuushi couldn’t make him spill his secret.

Oh, he knew Kenya when he was being like this; it meant not hell nor high water could convince him to cooperate. "Why do you worry me so, Ken-chan?" It was like when they were younger and played ridiculous games of trying to get one over each other... games that, funnily enough, they still played. Getting him to talk would be harder than he thought, and he deeply regretted the decision to let his cousin go in the first place. It wasn't Yuushi's style to play the same trick twice. There was, however something he hadn't done yet... Still maintaining that perfect poker-face, he slid his free hand down Kenya's chest, making a teasing way to that spot just by his waist.

What the fuck?

Kenya stood stock-still tensing beneath the hand that trailed down his chest and coming to a rest just above his waist. What was his cousin up to now, he wondered forcing himself not to jerk away from the hand that was too damn close to the waistband of his pants. The way his mind dropped straight to the gutter in that moment was a testimony to the perverted nature his romps with Saeki had set loose the last few weeks, otherwise he wouldn’t be thinking what he was thinking!

“Why do you keep calling me Ken-chan, damn it?” he demanded to know, choosing to pretend he wasn’t feeling the need to run like hell.
There was something to be said for reading people. Yuushi could tell, by the way his cousin tensed under his touch and the slight, almost imperceptible moment he had averted his gaze before snapping back so brilliantly, that not only was Kenya reacting wonderfully but also that the blonde had very likely understood his intentions to be less than noble. Interesting. And worth investigation later, certainly.

"Why? Because..." he replied, in a voice he reserved for implicatory banter with complete strangers- until now. He stepped a fraction closer, his hand moving so his fingers could trace idle patterns through Kenya's shirt, a careful, practiced touch. "Because, Kenya, the way you react to it makes you so much more delectable..."

Had there ever been a voice that could make him react the same way his cousin’s did? Saeki’s probably came close, because that vampire had a honeyed purr that could tighten his cock and send shivers racing up his spine but it came nowhere close to setting his nerves clambering as badly as Yuushi’s did in that moment when fingers started tracing idle patterns over his shirt. He could feel the careful, practiced touch through the flimsy t-shirt he wore perfectly. And Kenya had to struggle to fight off the shiver that wanted to race up his spine.

“Stop that, goddamn it!” he snarled, reaching up to slap at Yuushi’s hand. His cousin could think what he wanted about his reasons for smacking at his hand, just as long as the damn annoying little pettings stopped before his body made a fool of him. Not that Yuushi wasn’t well on his way to doing that with that fucking revelation, Kenya thought snidely when he was told he was delectable.

Delectable?

Seriously, where the hell did his cousin come up with this shit? Likely the romance novels he seemed to like reading, but that was something he could think about later because damned if his skin wasn’t starting to break out in goose bumps beneath those fingertips.

It was so entertaining Yuushi nearly forgot his initial purpose altogether, much more interested in seeing just how far he could take this, and Kenya's attempt to swat him off was only encouraging him further. The hand that was holding his cousin to the wall moved to grab a hold of the boy's wrist, holding it up to keep it safely out of the way as his exploration continued, crawling up the hem of his t-shirt to make contact with warm skin. All the while his gaze remained fixed on Kenya's face, watching, studying even the slightest reactions that crossed his features.

"You do realise I'm not going to," he breathed, running the back of his nails lightly across the boy's hip.

Kenya choked on his next breath, tensing from head to toe. He couldn’t figure out which was worse being outright tickled or the way those nails dragged so lightly over his hip. Ugh! Definitely the way those nails traced atop his hipbone, because it not only partially tickled but sent a delicious shockwave racing up his spine and left his nape tingling in odd ways. “Bastard!” he snapped to the cousin that loved to torment him just as much as he loved to torment in return, infuriated by the blush that climbed so suddenly to lightly tanned cheeks. Clenching his free hand into a tight fist, Kenya struck out at Yuushi, the blow arching toward the jaw he hoped to land a blow to this time.

Goddamn, Yuushi! He managed to get exactly what he wanted out of him, he was sure. That blasted blush had to be blood-red and so vibrant even a blind man could see it, which was just cause for striking out in Kenya’s opinion.

It was possibly the best thing Kenya could have done, that attempt to punch him. Yuushi found himself immensely grateful for the time and effort the Hunters' Association was taking to train his reflexes or that one would actually have struck home. As such, he dodged it by a hair's breadth, and he reached up to trap the errant hand as well, his smirk widening wickedly as he observed the colour that seemed to have made itself a home on the bridge of his cousin's nose and across his cheekbones.

"Talk, Kenya," he commanded gently, the soft, almost-tickles proceeding as they had been before the interruption; Yuushi could feel the heat rising in the skin beneath his touch. "If you remember, all you have to do is answer a simple question and I'll leave you alone... Unless, perhaps, you don't want me to."

In all their time growing up together and attending the same schools up until Kenya’s switch to the Academy, he wasn’t sure he had ever heard that tone of voice from Yuushi that while it wasn’t loudly commanding it still held a note of steel that arrested the blonde’s attention. He wanted to snap out something smart and caustic, a witty comeback that would slap his cousin right in the face, since he couldn’t seem to bust him in the friggen nose with his fist. But instead of opening his mouth to spew forth any number of expletives that he could have come up with, the blonde found himself slumping against the wall where wrists were captured and pinned.

He hated this! That soft tone, for all its velvet-lined steeliness, sounded almost concerned but he knew better! It was probably just a ruse and the minute he opened his mouth Yuushi was going to poke fun at him for falling for it. Kenya set his chin at a stubborn angle once again while fighting to decide on the best course of action that would get him through the next few minutes without losing face completely and destroying his pride, except the longer he stood there with the silence nearly deafening, the more he found his energy wilting and the more prominent the pounding in his temples became.

“I’ve,” he finally muttered crossly, nose wrinkling and features twisting into a grumpy pout. “Got a headache, Yuu.” If the last came out so low that it was nearly inaudible even to his ears then tough! He wasn’t repeating himself, no matter what Yuushi chose to do or say because admitting to a weakness of any sort grated Kenya’s nerves.

Yuushi frowned, both at the fact that Kenya had admitted defeat so quietly and that his only malady seemed to be a headache. A headache wouldn't be something that bothered his cousin to this point, unless it was so great in magnitude. And that worried him more than he was willing to admit.

Rightfully, the rules of their relationship dictated that Yuushi was to make fun of the boy for succumbing to such a wimpy illness, or something of the sort, but he wasn't quite in the mood for another struggle to get his cousin to talk. "Kenya," he began, not letting go lest the boy attempt another escape, the tickling ceasing altogether (but the memory reserved for another day, certainly). "What kind of headache?"

“I’unno, just a headache.” He shrugged in an attempt to lessen the importance of his malady. Why all the questions? It was just a fucking headache that would go away when he took something for it, which would happen a whole lot sooner if Yuushi would just let go of him! Except, he knew from experience the longer he fought and the harder he struggled the more stubborn and insistent his much taller cousin would become, and right then, he just did not feel up to the task of butting heads with the asshole.

“My temples are just… fuck, I feel like if I move my head the wrong way it’s going to explode,” Never was there a whine uttered from his lips so shocking as that one, leaving Kenya looking and feeling very much like a lost little boy when midnight eyes met his cousin’s as the words began to fall. He might complain and bitch about a lot of things but normally he kept news of any illness to himself, even going so far as to push himself to go to school when the flu threatened to lay him low, so he didn’t know why the hell he was talking to Yuushi about his headache or why he wasn’t already kneeing the guy in the balls.

As far as tactics went; that one would be dirty as hell hitting below the belt as it were, but he bet it would damn sure get him set free. But first! He’d try another method of winning his freedom, Kenya thought with no small amount of deviousness. “So, uh,” he went on as he let his head fall back to rest against the wall, telling himself that he could brazenly say what he was about to say without blushing like some ninny.

“Unless you’re going to play the role of my nurse, how aboutcha le’me go?”

"Hmm, I just might don the dress and cap for you, Ken-chan." The promise lacked some of the edge he would have liked to give it as Yuushi let go of the entrapped wrists, backstepping distractedly. If Kenya was actually talking about how bad he felt, then it was worth more intention than Kenya was giving it. The confession of the pain sent a thrill of worry through his mind. "Have you seen a doctor?" he asked, hoping quite desperately that his cousin would cooperate and not make a run for it. Yuushi wasn't sure he was due the consideration, however; it all depended on how willing Kenya was to talk further than he already was.

“Uh, let me see…. No?” Kenya retorted with a roll of his eyes. “I told you. It’s just a headache. I probably spent too long studying today, that’s all.” Idly, he rubbed at his wrists once they were free, massaging first one and then the other as he talked.

“And stop calling me Ken-chan, Yuu. I hate it!”

"You spent too long studying?" Yuushi asked, raising a sceptical brow. "I find that quite hard to believe." Of course, knowing Kenya, he would have to be dragged kicking and screaming if the situation called for any medical consultation whatsoever. "And I'll call you whatever I want," he added, smirking faintly still. "Especially if it reduces you into a lovely mess like before."

“What?!” Kenya asked with a frown. “I do study, you know.” More so lately than before, but he did study! He couldn’t have made the grade to get passed the front gates of the Academy if his GPA wasn’t up to par, right?

“And it did not reduce me to anything!”

"Didn't it?" he asked, then shrugged nonchalantly. "Must've been my imagination, then... I was sure I had this vision of you pinned helplessly against a wall and blushing desperately beneath my touch... Such an image of precious Kenya is nothing short of impossible, you're right." He clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "My, my, what a mind I have, mm?"

“That… You… I,” Kenya choked out each word, losing his ability to form a coherent sentence once his mind filled with a vision of himself pressed against the wall with a bright blush flushing lightly tanned skin. And his cousin who was, admittedly, sexy as hell pressing him back against the barrier.

Aware that he was once again blushing like mad and helpless to do anything about it, Kenya floundered to find the words that would drag them toward another topic of conversation but found he was far too frazzled by the images dancing in his head to say anything at all.

Yuushi chuckled softly, fixing Kenya with his purple-blue gaze. "What's the matter?" he teased quietly, encouraged by that blush and the probability that the boy had treated himself to somewhat inappropriate mental images. "Cat got your tongue? Because I can think of so many better uses to put it to otherwise."

“I can think of a hell of a lot better things to do with my tongue than let some cat have it, too.” He suddenly snapped out in his frustration, cheeks blazing even brighter when it hit him that he had just given his cousin more fodder to tease him with. But, damn, what was a guy to do when someone like Yuushi turned that sort of teasing on him? Never mind that it was his cousin doing the teasing.

Had he been the cackling kind, Yuushi would have outdone the worst of Macbeth's witches at Kenya's attempt at a retort. "Can you now?" he asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose again, giving him a pointed look. "My, Kenya, you've grown so much in the time we've been apart... I should rightfully be jealous... Unless, hmm, you'd care to demonstrate just what those things happen to be."

Jealous? Huh? What?

Kenya stared dumbly at his cousin, lost and confused for all of ten seconds before Yuushi’s words started to make sense.

Was Yuushi challenging him to put his money where his mouth was? He was, wasn’t he? His lungs stopped working and he was fairly sure his face was a lovely shade of blue by the time he felt them heaving again, and then only because he was starving for air.

“Don’t think I won’t,” he muttered mulishly, arms rising to cross over his chest. He glared at Yuushi, scowling for all he was worth in an attempt to appear far more intimidating than he was when he informed his cousin.

“Because I will!”

God, he just dug his own grave with that comeback, didn’t? Because he just couldn’t picture his cousin backing down now that the gauntlets had been thrown down.

Yuushi's smirk grew rather more wicked. Oh, Kenya he thought in amusement, as stubborn as he himself was when it came to a challenge, even though, Yuushi was almost certain, he hadn't really challanged him. Teased, yes, but...

Did the boy actually realise what he was saying? "Oh?" he began, meeting his cousin's glare and holding his eyes. "I just might be tempted to collect on that, Kenya."

Kenya was quite sure his cousin would not attempt to collect on it. He wouldn’t, right? There was no way the guy would actually do that when they were cousins and it was just mind-boggling to think that Yuushi would go that far.

He wouldn’t, would he?

Unaware of the silence that he had fallen into, the blonde stood there lost in his thoughts panic rising higher with each second. Surely, Yuushi wouldn’t do that because then he’d have to back up what his big mouth had gotten him into… again!

The pressing silence and look in Kenya's eyes answered any questions Yuushi had about whether he realised what he'd gotten himself into. But it also made things rather more difficult now; Yuushi simply couldn't back down because that would give his cousin one over him. It meant the possibility of landing them both in possibly the most awkward situation they'd ever been in, but that was a possibility he would have to risk for the moment.

"Cold feet, hmm, Ken-chan,?"

“I do not have cold feet!” Kenya denied but immediately wished he had kept his fucking mouth closed, because now he actually had to back up his bragging or risk looking like some sort of loser with a yellow streak a mile wide. Taking a deep breath, he pushed away from the wall and damned the blush that rode hide on his cheeks when he sauntered (He was sauntering, wasn’t he? And not bashfully slinking, but brazenly waltzing his way to his cousin, right?) his way closer to Yuushi closing the distance between them with each step.

He could do this! Never mind that every law of society looked down on this sort of thing and what people would say if they found out; all he had to do was think of….

Right, he couldn’t think of anything to distract him from the fact that the moment his feet came to a stop just inches away from his cousin that he was reaching up to snake a hand around Yuushi’s neck to drag him down toward him. Except, he definitely remembered everything Saeki had taught him about kissing and since he was supposed to be showing Yuushi the many different ways he could think of as a better use for his tongue than letting some figurative cat have it then he started out with a small nip to a plump bottom lip.

Kenya nibbled at that lip for a heartbeat of time, before he snaked his tongue out to lave it teasingly over the bitten flesh all the while wondering how the hell he constantly got himself into situations like this!

For the first time that afternoon, Yuushi's brain froze up. It was a momentary lapse, certainly, but one arising from the realization that yes, he was, in fact, being kissed by Kenya. Kenya. It was enough to put anyone off, much less Yuushi who prided himself on being collected.

Many things became apparent to the taller boy as his mind caught up with the situation, the first being that it would do not to challenge his cousin to do anything Yuushi thought he wouldn't do, because, yes, he would. The second was that someone had been teaching this boy how to kiss. He didn't have any doubts that Kenya was a popular person, given that he looked good enough and was relatively amiable enough to have friends and lovers and the such, but Yuushi was almost -certain- that the boy hadn't learned to do this on his own. The third thing the boy realised was that he was allowing himself to be kissed and doing nothing to reciprocate.

That woudn't do. Even though this was Kenya's moment, it wasn't in Yuushi's nature to be quite so passive. And he was curious to know what the boy would do if he did... respond. Moaning softly beneath his breath, he slipped a hand around the boy's waist, drawing him closer and capturing his lips and tongue with his own.

Merf, Yuushi was not supposed to kiss him back! No, his cousin was supposed to gasp all scandalized and shocked when his lips so much as touched his. And then maybe shove him away with a quick scolding. The idiot was NOT supposed to be kissing him in return!

Kenya was gearing up to shove his cousin away and ask him what the fuck he thought he was doing by returning the kiss when hands rose to slip around his waist and draw him closer, which was enough to send every coherent thought he had flying right out the window. Geez, when did Yuushi get so good at this? Not that he knew what it was like to kiss his cousin before that moment, because he didn’t. But he still wanted to know just when, where, and with whom his cousin had picked up the skills that teased his mouth into opening and his tongue into snaking out to swirl along another in a teasing dance.

He heard another soft moan, almost identical to the one Yuushi had uttered just seconds before, and realized it came from his mouth this time. The sound, soft and low, was muffled by the dance of tongues and lips.

Had Yuushi been thinking rationally, he would have taken into consideration that this was in fact a dormitory corridor and this was not particularly something fellow students would appreciate seeing. Well, most students, anyway. But he left rational thought behind the moment he'd felt Kenya's hands clutch at his shirt-front, and heard the boy moan...

Yuushi tilted his head to deepen the kiss even further as his hands slipped beneath Kenya's t-shirt once more, this time aiming not to tickle, but explore the skin he'd already made a note of as being sensitive. He was just so responsive, making Yuushi desire to draw it out even more, see what other reactions he could coax from the boy as he continued to explore the expanse of Kenya's mouth and match the duel with equal passion.

There were hands (hands!) under his shirt.

Now while it was a stupid thought to have at the time, Kenya had to admit they were nice hands. Warm and explorative, with long lean fingers that feathered over his stomach and danced their over his skin leaving a wake of goose bumps behind. They whispered along the lower curve of his ribs snaking so close to his sides that he froze, tensing from head to toe just seconds before his whole body shook from the shiver that suddenly raced up his spine.

It was when he felt his body moving, shifting to gravitate closer to the warm one towering over his, nearly dwarfing him as it crowded him against the wall that some modicum of sense returned to Kenya. And then only because he realized that he was dangerously close to grinding against his cousin in a mortifyingly needy way that would practically beg those hands to travel downward and touch him there!

There of all places! And his cousin of all people! It was shocking and scandalous, which made it all the more appealing to the sensuous creature Saeki had helped nurture into awakening fully. And that scared him the most, because Kenya’s mind was suddenly filling with things he shouldn’t be thinking and thoughts that would, no doubt, secure him a permanent place in hell.

Groaning with equal parts reluctance and embarrassment, he loosened his hold on the shirt he held, ordering each fingers to relax and let go until he could shove against his cousin’s chest to push him away. “So, uh, yeah!” he muttered trying to pretend he wasn’t feeling like he was sinking in way over his head and that his body wasn’t going haywire for his cousin’s touch of all things. “101 better things to do with my tongue than let some cat have it.” While his voice wasn’t as sure and firm as he would have liked it (in fact, it shook like hell and that annoyed him) he still stood there brazenly attempting to pull off a suave confident façade, instead of running like hell like he should be doing.

Fuck, he was such a goddamn idiot!

In retrospect, Yuushi would be surprised that in that moment he never once pondered on the inherent wrongness of what he was doing with Kenya, perhaps because he was too focussed in what he was doing, perhaps because a part of his mind he didn’t much care that they were cousins, blasphemous or whatnot.

And he could feel- absolutely sense the desire growing in the other boy, feel it buzzing beneath his fingertips, in his skin. Yuushi found himself responding to that need, exploring a little bit more with each touch, his fingers growing that much bolder, unconsciously learning the contours of the body pressed so close to his own.

When they did break apart, Yuushi found himself licking his lips in an unconsciously seductive gesture, looking straight into Kenya’s eyes even as the boy made an entirely failed attempt to appear nonchalant about what had happened. Yes, the boy had clearly been learning something of the art of love, but his acting skills still left much to be desired. “Fascinating,” Yuushi purred, setting his glasses straight. “I wonder what you would have done if I had challenged you to an entirely different game…” His tone, and the look that he gave his cousin, left no doubts as to what exactly he was referring to.

Somehow and in someway, Yuushi’s words sent Kenya’s brain hauling ass in the direction of a massive meltdown. Or maybe it was the sensual way a tongue flicked over his cousin’s bottom lip. He didn’t know but he did know that for a span of time his head was filled with nothing while he stared wide-eyed at the mouth that had just been devouring his as much as his had been devouring it.

“Huh, what?” he croaked out, confused and struggling to get his thoughts under control. Too bad that when he did the first thing that he realized was exactly what kind of challenge his kin was talking about. The vivid blush that arose on lightly tanned cheeks raced down Kenya’s neck and disappeared beneath the collar of his shirt.

“Well, you’ll never know now!” he countered, hoping for a strong tone rather than the strangled rush of words but failing miserably, until the insanity of it all pushed feet to move. Suddenly, he shoved away from the wall and ducked away from his cousin, well on the way to preparing to dart off with as much speed as his legs could produce when he hurriedly muttered.

“Anyway, gotta go. See ya!” Oh, yeah, a smart man knew when the getting was good and was good to get to doing. And he could be smart-sometimes.

Yuushi chuckled, shaking his head at the expected perplexity so obvious on Kenya’s face, if the blush itself wasn’t a tell-tale sign. His words, and the boy’s apparently graphic mind, had done their work, then. He crossed his arms, taking a step back as his cousin made his final, and this time successful, escape attempt.

“Goodness,” Yuushi remarked lightly, turning to look at his cousin as though nothing out of the ordinary had taken place and they had simply been standing there talking about the weather and not indulging in possibly one of the most… scandalous… scenes the corridor had ever seen. “I never thought I’d ever have the chance to see you run from me in near mortal terror, Ken-chan, I’ll be sure to make a note of it for later.” He strode forward, passing Kenya, the epitome of innocence. “It’s such a pity you have to leave so soon, though.”

“Oi!” Kenya cried out as his cousin passed him by, hand making a wild grab for Yuushi’s shirt from behind. “I was… am not running in terror.” He snapped, pride objecting to the fear his cousin said he felt, even if it was true.

“I’m not scared of you! I ain’t scared of nothing!”

Man, he couldn’t believe he was letting Yuushi push his buttons like this, but there he was falling prey to some of his cousin’s oldest tricks. He just never learned!

Yuushi gave Kenya a sidelong glance, still seemingly unfazed by it all. He shrugged, ignoring the fact that he was being held captive by the back of his shirt. “Oh, I must have read that look in your eyes wrong, then, not to mention the panic in your voice,” he said lightly, his tone teasing again now. “Do forgive me.”

Kenya forgot about where they were and what he was doing, again. All he saw and heard was the words that continued to prick at his already wounded pride. “There wasn’t any sort of look in my eyes and what panic? I don’t hear any panic!” he insisted, unaware of whether or not they were still moving down the corridor with his hand firmly latched onto his cousin’s shirt allowing Yuushi to lead him along, just as the taller teen verbally egged him on.

“I’m not afraid of anything, Yuu!” he insisted again, stubbornly refusing to allow Yuushi to go on saying he was or even think it.

In all honesty, Yuushi hadn’t quite intended to egg Kenya on that much again, but the more worked up his cousin got the more he was encouraged to prod at him, to see, as he’d wanted to before (with… fascinating… results). “Of course you’re not,” he assured him, in a broad tone that was far from reassuring. “You’re hardly a virginal teenager who should lapse into fits of blushing when catching the vaguest air of something more risqué than holding hands, Ken-chan… And you can let go of my shirt now, thank you, unless you intend to follow me to my room.” He gave him a look now, over the rims of his glasses, one that gave him leeway to read the statements as he wished.

Kenya dropped the shirt he had been holding so quickly one would think he had been burned. “Shut the fuck up,” he snapped, aware yet again that his cheeks were still as red as cherries. The more his cousin talked of such things the more he wanted to dig a hole to crawl in, but would his pride allow that? No, of course, it would not. This was exactly why he was in this mess to begin with. His mouth just didn’t know when to stop while stopping was good and he had a meager escape route open. Though, now that he thought about it Yuushi had just given him a great one, but was he going to take it?

Hell no!

It was a proven fact that for the most part Oshitari Kenya was one of the densest and most oblivious males around, but standing there leveling a peeved little glare on his cousin the bleach blonde realized several things at once: he had not thought about or worried over any of his recent troubles since running into Yuushi, he felt livelier than he had in weeks, and (this was the cincher) he was actually glad to see his most annoying cousin. “Ne, Yuu,” he muttered, reaching up to rub at his temples once his sharp words of seconds prior faded.

Yuushi was beginning to consider the possibility that he would need to instruct his cousin in the art of retorting in a way that did not involve a barked curse or a direct denial, considering how it was as likely to work on other people as it was working on him: which was not at all. Kenya was just a very... there was something refreshingly unsophisticated about him, and that was what Yuushi something of an edge on occassion. It was also part of the reason why he unwittingly worried about the boy.

However, the taller boy could not ignore the fact that the utterance following the random curse that Kenya had responded with was in a considerably different voice and, more troubling, a hand on his forehead. Headache he'd said. Yuushi turned to the boy, stuffing his worry into a far corner of his mind. "What is it?"

Kenya ducked his head to hide away from the piercing gaze of his cousin’s that he knew was just as shrewd as the growing man-to-be was. It wasn’t often that he managed to get one up on Yuushi but still he loved indulging in the games and pranks, which considering how mean some of them bordered on being one would think he hated the cousin he pulled them on. However, the truth was the exact opposite; for all his snappishness and scowling ways when it came to his interactions with Yuushi, he did enjoy the time they spent together, no matter how many scuffles both verbal and physical he dragged them into.

That, coupled with the downright confusing and chaotic state of his life of late, saw his gaze locking on the toes of his tennis shoes. Scuffing the tip of one shoe along the floor, he took a deep breath, and then awkwardly with much hesitation muttered softly, “M’glad you’re here,”

Of course, he couldn’t let it go at that lest his cousin focus solely on the small admission. There had to be something to follow to distract Yuushi from the unusual revelation that Kenya normally would have kept to himself on the best of days, which definitely explained the sudden smirk and proud lifting of his head as he quickly stated, “And you owe me a cure for this headache!”

Yuushi had offered to nurse him, after all. And while Kenya wasn’t going to push for the role to be played out in an actual nurse’s uniform, he did think hiding away in Yuushi’s room while he waited for the pain to clear was infinitely better than going back to his own room and dealing with the roommate that hardly ever spoke to him.

If Yuushi hadn't heard it with his own ears he wouldn't have believed it. But heard it he had, and it not only surprised him, it made him want to take his cousin somewhere far away from whatever it was that was bothering him. Not that he was going to do anything of the sort, much less let on that he had heard, of course. There were some things cousins did not admit to each other, regardless of whatever else they got up to.

He frowned, briefly, despite the arrogance in Kenya's cocky declaration about the headache cure. "Mm, I do, don't I?" he chuckled, glossing over his concern. "Considering I haven't blown your mind sufficiently yet..." He took a step towards the boy and slung a casual arm around his shoulder, putting their game on hold for the moment. "C'mon up, then," he said, cocking a head to the staircase. "I've got takoyaki with your name on it and I'll throw in a massage for good measure."

How nice it was to tilt his head back, allowing it to loll against his cousin’s arm. To lean closer to the taller body at his side while his arm snaked out to loosely loop around Yuushi’s back. Just to feel the warmth at his side that wasn’t just physical but also emotional. Hell, just to know that he was accepted. For all his moods and his snappishness, his outright bitchy attitude… no matter what frame of mind or mood he was in this person, at least, would never make him think that maybe he shouldn’t be there.

“Yeah?” he asked with a return of the smile so few saw, eyes brightening over the prospect of food and a pain-free head. “I hope you brought lots.” Kenya said with a laugh, showing in that moment the greedy hunger that often caused his mother to be hit by repeated requests for more when they ate a meal together as a family. Yeah, he thought as he felt something loosening inside and ebbing away. Maybe the day was looking up with both Yuushi and the promise of food. One thing was for certain, now that he knew for sure it was his cousin he saw all those times he had plenty to plot now.

And that he could definitely look forward to.

Yuushi led the way into the dormroom he shared with a redhead who hadn’t arrived yet and who Yuushi hadn’t actually met (his own training schedule kept him out till quite late, one of the curfew-bending wonders of the Hunters’ Association). He didn’t think Kenya would have much trouble telling which of the two beds was his; being a natural procrastinator meant there were many things left to be attended to later, including the pile of schoolbooks on the end of the bed, and the stack of read and unread novels on the desk alongside random articles that he’d never actually bothered to find a place for. A lazy mess that somehow managed to remain tasteful, if it was at all possible.

“Aah, shove some of that away, and sit,” he instructed his cousin, heading for the trunk where he’d kept the takoyaki (wrapped and re-wrapped to keep it fresh until the end of his little game. “When I was leaving your mom told me they’re for me, my mom told me they’re for you….” Shaking his head, he unpeeled the layers of wrapping from the lacquer box for Kenya. “I finished my share, so it’s all yours.”

“Heh, you never change.” Kenya said with a grin once he cleared a spot out for himself on the bed, plopping down without a care after a pile of books had been pushed off to the side. It was funny; he thought as he surveyed his cousin’s room and the tasteful mess that gave the room an artful lived in feeling while not appearing to be a complete pigsty. Only Yuushi could pull that off, but the funny part was of the two of them Kenya, the one most assumed would be a slob given his appearance and oftentimes rowdy demeanor, was actually the neater of the two.

Which made Zaizen lucky, he reckoned as their room never was left to sit in disarray. He had an obsession with keeping his things neat and organized, and his guitars cleaned and tuned. Kenya mentally shook away thoughts of his confusing and irksome roommate. He could deal with that later, since right then saw a box of takoyaki appearing in front of his face. He did what any growing teen would do; he reached for it without a word, and stuffed the first ball into his mouth whole giving a small moan of appreciation for the delicious taste that exploded over his tongue.

Ah, the takoyaki was still fresh then, Yuushi thought amusedly to himself, chuckling at Kenya’s quite vocal reaction to the homemade snacks. Really, watching the boy eat was a treat in its own right, perhaps more of a treat than the food itself.

“I’m not going to take them away, you know, Kenya, you can take your time…” He sat down across from Kenya and leaned back onto his elbows, still watching with the ghost of a smile on his lips. Day and night some would say of cousins, as different as possible and yet, somehow, perfectly matched. “And you’re going to regret having finished it so soon when it’s over,” he added for good measure, ignoring quite vehemently the fact that he probably sounded like his mother.

Kenya swallowed, pretending not to keep an eye on his cousin from his vantage point of sitting up while Yuushi lounged across from him. “Liar,” he said with a quick flick of his tongue outward, before popping a finger into his mouth to suck the residue left behind off.

“You’d so steal one, if I didn’t watch you like a hawk.” One by one he sucked and licked his fingers clean, cradling his box of treats on his lap in the meantime to keep pilfering fingers away from them. Of course, the fact that he expected Yuushi to snag one of his goodies spoke loads about his own habits as more than once in the past he had done his own share of snatching bits and pieces from his cousin’s plate when their families got together for a meal. And this particular french fry-takoyaki-onigiri stealing thief totally expected to be stolen from in return. After all, karma could be such a bitch.

Yuushi shook his head, watching his cousin’s display of near-selfish devouring of the takoyaki in amusement. He couldn’t help but be reminded of countless times he’d been stolen from at family events until he’d developed the good sense to steal back what was taken from him. In a way Kenya’s fears were unfounded: Yuushi had no reason to retaliate this time, after all… although that didn’t mean he wouldn’t think to act on it at a later point.

“Honestly, if I really wanted to pinch one off you, I don’t think you’d be able to catch me,” Yuushi chuckled light heartedly.

“Cheh, I’m faster than you and we both know it,” He retorted with pride. Kenya knew he was quick and repeatedly trained over and over to increase his speed. Briefly, he forgot about his treats though they were never far from his mind. He noted the emptier side of the room and wondered if Yuushi’s roommate had been chosen yet or if the guy was just absent. Not that he wanted to think on that too much, either.

“So, how long have you been here?” he asked too curious for his own good.

The boy did have a point, Yuushi grudgingly conceded to himself; even with the training he’d been doing, when it came to speed he didn’t have that much of an edge over his cousin. “Mm, unless you’ve let yourself grow slack in my absence,” he chuckled, greatly doubting this to be the case. He had to hold back his laugh at the next question, though. “How long?” he turned his gaze to the ceiling, thoughtful for a moment. “Well… Remember the day you sent me a text asking where I was? I’d been here three days already then.”

He remembered that text and the reply, which still irked him. Kenya did have a passionate dislike for being called Ken-chan and never hesitated to tell people off for using it. “Nothing to do around here but study, practice, or train, and you son-o…” he stopped there, putting a hold on his tongue as a vision of his favorite aunt came to mind and thought better of the name he’d been about to toss at Yuushi.

“Bastard,” he hissed instead, cheeks a rosy hue with remembered agitation.

“I’ll get even, just so you know.”

Yuushi chuckled, raising an eyebrow at the near slip and tell-tale blush. “I don’t doubt for a moment that you’ll try,” he said pointedly. “Whether or not you succeed remains to be seen, however.”

And, he added to himself, he’d have to be extra careful from here onwards, now that he’d made the first move and it was Kenya’s turn to counterattack. There was an etiquette to this sort of thing, after all; ground rules laid down after they’d both gotten told off enough times to decide it was best to go about things in a more intelligent way. A more intelligent way that more often than not wreaked havoc across households, but one that suited the two of them just fine: Prank and be pranked, just to show you cared.

“Gotcha the last time and I’ll do it again.” Kenya told his cousin with a smug smirk, before reaching for another of the delectable treats he popped into his mouth. Unfortunately, he head chose that moment to protest with fact that he was sitting there chowing down on some amazing takoyaki instead of seeking out the pain killers he’d originally been in search of by sending out a sharp shooting throb along his temples.

Groaning, he finished off the one he tossed into his mouth, an then set about storing the remainder. Carefully, he rewrapped the remaining takoyaki with great attention as he fully intended to eat the rest later.

“Mm, perhaps, and then it’ll be my turn again, and I most certainly won’t go easy on you like this time,” Yuushi replied, sitting up just in time to see the boy put away the takoyaki, apparently having had his fill. And, if that brief look in his eyes was anything to go by, the headache was making a comeback as well, reminding him that he had another part of the bargain to fulfill. He shifted so he was sitting cross-legged, and looked across at Kenya. “Lie down,” he instructed once the boy was finished with putting the remainder of the snack away. With a smirk, he added, “I promise not to make any suggestive remarks about your head being in my lap.”

“Who says I’m going to go easy on you,” Kenya asked as he shifted around with his back to his cousin. He wasted no time flopping backward with his head falling to nestle atop Yuushi’s thighs and was properly settling in with his eyes slipping closed when the rest of his cousin’s words hit him.

“Oi!” he snapped, cheeks blazing and eyes popping open once more to shoot a glare up into a face he knew would be alive with amusement soon enough. “Friggen perve, you already made a suggestive remark about it by even mentioning it to draw attention to the fact!”

“Mm, so it would seem,” Yuushi replied, not quite able to hold back his laugh. It was worth it just to see him react, really. If Kenya hadn’t been the type to be quite so verbal about his opinions, Yuushi would have lost interest in teasing him long ago. “My mistake,” he added in a tone that was far from apologetic.

“Now,” he continued, in a quieter voice, raising his fingers to the boy’s temples, gently smoothing fingertips down to the area around his eyes and behind his ears in soft, calming motions. “Relax.”

And there it was-the expected amusement that Kenya really didn’t find fault with, even if he liked to pretend otherwise to keep things just as they had always been and should always be. Shit, he didn’t know what he would do if things changed between them and seriously wasn’t going to contemplate the thought either.

“Easier said than done,” he muttered a little crossly. It never was easy for him to relax around people lately. He wasn’t exactly sure what was to blame for it, but even a step inside his personal bubble of space set off his alarms. Maybe it was the encounter while he had been out with Shiraishi or other things that he, again, refused to think about. Grinning wryly, he ordered his eyes to close, and then took a deep breath while counting backwards from twenty. The process of getting each muscle and limbs to relax took a while, but with his cousin’s fingers working along temples down to the area behind his ears, and then back up again he managed, somehow.

Aah, who was he kidding? That felt nice and no way was he going to say otherwise lest the massage come to an end sooner than it should have.

“Mm?” Yuushi asked, giving the boy a curious look that he couldn’t see, eyes having slid shut. It occurred to him that it had been some time since he’d gotten much of an update on the goings on in Kenya’s life- both of them had gotten tangled up in their own day-to-days for that- and that accounted somewhat for the irrational worry he felt for his cousin. He couldn’t even begin to tell what was bothering him so much. He wondered about it while continuing the massage, exerting alternating amounts of pressure.

Well, he considered, at least he was there and not halfway across the country.

“Nothin’,” he murmured, voice drowsy and rapidly growing heavy with fatigue. Those fingers felt wonderful especially when they stroked along his temples with varying pressure. If he wasn’t careful he’d fall asleep right there, and then where would his cousin be? Of course, it would serve Yuushi right if he stole his bed for a time leaving him nowhere to nap or sleep, which did sound like a bright idea to the blonde troublemaker right then.

“Hush, then,” Yuushi instructed. He was inclined to encourage his cousin to sleep, at least for a while, knowing it would be ideal treatment for the headache with only the fact that he would find himself briefly bed-less as a disadvantage- one that he didn’t mind much in the grand view of things. He didn’t say anything further to the boy, continuing the massage in silence, his hands drifting to Kenya’s neck and shoulders, touching on all the pressure points from memory, allowing the atmosphere in general to settle into a pleasantly drowsy lull.

It didn’t take long for talent fingers to massage him into a light slumber, so that though Kenya was dimly aware of what was going on but couldn’t be bothered to move an inch further than where he was. He had to say one thing for his cousin; Yuushi did know how to get rid of a headache and his lap wasn’t too shabby on the pillow side of things, either.

“Nice,” he practically purred out the compliment, face relaxing into an expression of pure blissful contentment. Later, he would have to remember to find some manner in which to thank Yuushi. In-between the pranking, that is. And that was something he wasn’t thinking about right now either, he thought as he shifted his head to snuggle closer to his cousin’s stomach, mind drifting further and further as the seconds went by.

A few minutes longer and Yuushi realised Kenya had fallen quite asleep, much to his satisfaction. He kept up the methodical movements of his fingers, however, wondering to himself just how the boy who was always ready to mouth off the first thing that came into his mind could look so utterly innocent while sleeping.

Once he became aware that his legs were beginning to go numb, he carefully slipped his cousin out of his lap and onto a pillow, allowing him to sleep off whatever was bothering him; until Yuushi came up with a suitably entertaining means to wake him up or (and this seemed rather more likely) Kenya woke up in something of a foul temper and marched off on his own. In the mean time, he absently restacked the novels on his desk in reading order, wondering vaguely whether he should make another attempt to get Fuji Yuuta to read Gone with the Wind.