Panic - Ch.8 - ReitaxRuki
Title: Panic
Author: shurikenwielder
Disclaimer: Keep dreaming
Chapters: 8/??
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Psychological
Pairing(s): ReitaxRuki
Warnings: Language, neglect, teasing
Description: You could think a lot of things about a person. That they were weird, stupid, funny, egotistic. How some you enjoy the company of and others you feel like pushing off a cliff. Since the first day thoughts of the Ruki flooded Akira's mind. Now he's determined to uncover the other's mystery.
Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7
When Monday finally came around, Akira was sure that he had never been so anxious for school. The small amount of time the weekend provided gave him plenty of time to think over all the information he gathered.
This is borderline obsession, he thought to himself as he ate his cereal at the table. The noise of the TV carried through to the kitchen, giving him something to focus on.
“A thunder storm watch advisory has been put up for today as growing lightni-”
"Akira! Hurry, I'm driving you to school today," his mother's voice called out from her spot in the garage.
"Coming!" he called and scoffed down the rest of food and ran out the door.
- -
"Aki!" a voice called out over the downpour on the roof of the school building.
The brunette stopped walking as he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind.
Other students paused in the hall to stare momentarily, looking away embarrassedly when the brunette caught them doing so.
Said brunette sighed and turned around to greet the blond, but stopped when he noticed that the other wasn't paying attention.
"Ruki..." he tried quietly waving his hands in front of the other's eyes, but got no reaction aside from the other suddenly taking off down the hall. Only as the other was fading from sight did the brunette notice the other had something rather large in his hands. His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to make out what it was, only gathering that it was in a case before the other ran around the corner. Where is he going?
"Mr. Suzuki," a voice suddenly filtered out over the loud speaker, causing him to jump. "Please report to the director's office," a female voice carried over before ending.
The brunette paused for a moment before the words of what the other had just said finally sunk in and he made his way to the office.
- -
"Ah! There you are!" the director cheered as he quietly shut the door to her office. "I was going through your files and I realized that we never gave you a music elective to replace your study hall. You mentioned in your application that you played... guitar is it?"
"Bass..." he mumbled shyly and shifted down lower in his chair.
"Ah, well anyway," she shuffled through the stacks of papers. "I figured you'd be more comfortable in orchestra with the strings, unless that is you wanted to try something else?"
"Orchestra's fine," he mumbled and scratched the back of his neck. He accepted the sheet of paper she handed him and got up from his chair. "So, I head to the music room after lunch instead of study hall right?"
"Nope. Study hall is first period on Monday, so you're heading there now."
"But..." Akira trailed off.
The woman chuckled at the other's confused expression. "The schedule changes everyday to keep it interesting. We announce overhead which class is first and then they write out the schedule for the week there on the board."
The brunette slowly nodded and quickly exited the room, the director's cackles carrying out after him.
- -
It hadn't taken him long to find the band room, as the loud blend of the different instruments reverberated off the walls.
The fifty or so random songs immediately bombarded him as he opened the door to reveal a sea of students. He had only taken a few steps when a voice suddenly called out, "Akira!"
He stopped and looked out over the swarm of faces to try and find who had spoken. It wasn't Ruki, or he would've said Aki. So...
"Akira!" the voice called out again. This time he turned to be faced with a girl with curly hair running up to him and waving.
"Claira?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yeah."
He looked around for something to talk about when something silver caught his attention. "You play the flute?"
"Hm?" she looked down at her hands. "Oh! No, it's a friends, I was just messing around with it. I can barely get a note out of it. Look," she lifted the object to her mouth and blew into it.
The blond tried his best not to wince as high pitched squealing came out of the instrument. He sighed in relief as the sound was abruptly cut off when her friend came up and snatched the instrument away.
She laughed and walked over to grab her stuff from the corner. He felt his brow furrow as he realized the case she was holding resembled the one Ruki was holding earlier as he ran away.
"So anyway, what are you in?" she asked and walked towards the other end of the room.
"Uh," he grabbed the railing to the stairway. "Orchestra, I don't know what instrument yet though."
"Ah, so you're probably just observing today and tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" the brunette couldn't help but ask.
"Mhm. Since today's like a free day. Tomorrow will be a real class. Today's just practice." She opened the door to the orchestra room once she reached the bottom of the steps.
The sounds of the other instruments faded away as the door clicked shut again and was replaced by low humming of the strings instruments through the glass of the practice rooms.
"Well," she clasped her hands together. "I guess I'll leave you to observe and don't be afraid to ask students about their instruments so that you can choose which one you want to play!" she quickly explained and rushed off to one of the endless hallways of practice rooms.
Akira sighed and looked at the students playing. He didn't feel like asking questions. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked down one of the hallways.
They all look so absorbed that I don't really want to bother them...
"Maybe... wrong sheet music..." a voice suddenly said. Ruki... Akira thought to himself, not even bothering to jump as he recognized the voice immediately.
He turned saw none other than the blond sitting with a cello at his side as he stared down intently in his binder. He quietly walked up and peeked around the slightly ajar door.
The blond reached over for his cello again and positioned himself to play after setting the music back on the stand.
Light notes filled the air for a few more seconds before the blond stopped again with a frustrated look on his face.
"It doesn't sound right..." There was silence for a few more seconds before the other sighed and grabbed the binder again. "I know that's what it says, but... Yes it's in tune."
Akira frowned the longer the conversation went on. I knew the medicine would have worn off by now, but I just thought he would have... he trailed off as he remembered what the other's sibling had said not that long ago. “He relies so much on that person that he only takes it when it gets to be too much.”
He sighed. Of course he didn't take it.
The blond, oblivious to the brunette just outside the door, suddenly snapped his head up.
"The last note just needs to be an octave lower," was all he said to himself before playing the same line again. The light notes took place again in their soft pattern before it took a dramatic turn to deep and loud before fading out.
The blond smiled at his work and took out a pencil to write the adjustment in the book.
The brunette took this opportunity to announce his presence by rapping on the door slightly trying not to startle the other.
He waited for the other to jump or acknowledge his presence in some way, but frowned as the other kept writing.
He sighed and stepped into the room. He paused for a moment to see if the other would notice before walking the rest of the way to tap the other's shoulder.
"Sorry," he apologized when the blond violently flinched and took away his hand to sit down on the bench on the other side of the small room.
"It's fine," the other whispered before speaking up, "W-why are you here?"
"I have to pick an instrument for orchestra-"
"N-no," he paused to clear his throat. "I mean why are you here?"
"In this room?"
"With me."
The brunette hesitated at the serious and desperate tone in the other's voice.
"Well," he paused and chose his words carefully. "We're friends. It's gonna take a lot to get that label to go away. No matter how much you run away."
The blond's eyes visibly widened. "Run away?"
The brunette nodded. "Well, not quite run away as much as you tend to take off in the middle of something."
The blond looked down and lightly plucked at the strings.
"Hey," the brunette put his hand over the other's. "I didn't mean to embarrass you. It's just confusing sometimes."
The blond lifted his head up and looked at the other before turning his attention to their hands.
It was enough time for the brunette to notice the purplish bags under the other's eyes.
"Ruki, did you sleep at all last night?"
As if he had just been reminded about it, the blond suddenly yawned and rubbed his eyes. "No. Aoi and mother were a-arguing again."
"Again?"
The blond nodded and set his cello aside. He shivered and started bouncing his leg at an abnormal rate. "They don't get along very well." He looked down towards the floor.
"What were they arguing about?" the brunette asked. "If you don't mind," he quickly added when the blond froze up a bit.
"T-they're..." he paused abruptly and looked towards the doorway for a moment before getting up and shutting the door along with closing the blinds to the windows.
Akira was just about to ask what the other was doing when the room suddenly went dark.
"Ru-" he started to ask when the other's hand lightly clamped over his mouth to prevent him from talking. The other shushed him real quick before climbing onto the brunette's lap facing the door without explanation.
The brunette swallowed all the questions threatening to spill as the door suddenly opened letting a small stream of light in. A student stuck his head through the doorway and looked around for a moment before shrugging and shutting the door again.
"Wha-" the brunette decided to try again when the other's hand stopped him. He tried his best to remain silent and strained his hearing as low voices were heard through the door.
"No he's not in there," a gruff voice said.
"Then where else? Don't think he skipped music do you?" another chimed in.
As the conversation carried on Akira felt his eyes widen as he realized why the voices sounded so familiar. Weren't they the ones teasing him a few days ago?
"Couldn't hurt to check the rest of the school. Freak knows what day it is..." the jock trailed off accompanied by the pair of footsteps echoing down the hall.
"Ruki," he tried once he was sure the others were gone. "What were they talking about? What day is it?"
"Monday..." the other answered innocently.
"No, what do they mean you know what today is?"
The blond bit his lip and began wringing his hands. "T-they don't like me because I don't talk. So they'll t-tease me as if I'm mute. That's it, I-I really don't know what Monday is. I don't k-know what they're talking about-"
"Whoa, Ruki. Shh. Slow down," the brunette cut off the other's rambling. The blond stopped talking and just trembled instead. The brunette frowned as he felt something wet soak into his uniform shirt which he soon identified as tears.
Something tells me he knows what they're talking about. He wouldn't be crying if nothing was going on.
The brunette sighed and reluctantly pushed the other away, trying his best to not let his guilt get to him when the other began to panic. He got up after prying the other's arms away from his waist. He tried his best not to trip on anything in the small room and paused at the door with his hand on the handle.
Should I... he looked back briefly at the blond still huddled on the bench sniffling.
"I'm coming back," he decided and waited for the other to reply. When the blond gave no answer the brunette sighed and hesitantly left the room.
Back in the practice room the blond sniffled and feebly rubbed at his eyes as steady streams continued to fall. He looked up at the door as if the other would come back through immediately and say he was sorry for worrying him.
As the seconds passed by the blond's hopes slowly diminished every adding second he was alone in the silent room.
"I'm coming back." he replayed the other's last statement in his head. He shook his head as all his pessimistic thoughts flooded in, and just focused on the most important question to him.
Is he?
- -
Gotta make this as quick as possible, Akira thought to himself as he rushed through the hallways towards his locker.
His hands worked quickly opening he metal door as he rummaged through his backpack desperately, realizing that every second he spent out here the blond was probably spending crying.
Maybe Uruha will help... he tired to reassure himself as he opened another compartment of his bag when his previous search presented nothing.
Got it! he thought to himself as his fingers wrapped themselves around the object.
With the item gripped tightly in his hand he quickly ran back to the music room, down the stairs, and through the maze of hallways again.
The door swung open to reveal the dark room. He flicked the light switch to show that the blond had moved to the floor. The brunette felt his eyes widen as he realized that the other's belongings were scattered across the ground, more importantly though, his eyes focused on the tiny little white pills in the other's hand again.
"Ruki," he said calmly, and knelt down in front of the other. "Do you think it's a good idea to take those now?" he asked, the side affects from Friday playing over again in his head.
The blond looked down at his hands, tears long gone. "I'm tired... I want to sleep."
"Do you need pills to sleep?" the brunette asked.
"Sometimes..."
The brunette sighed and watched the other's expression, taking in the other's bags under his silver eyes.
Couldn't hurt to try now could it... he thought to himself before suddenly pulling the other to his side.
The blond went rigid, surprised by the other's actions. "Aki-"
"Try to sleep now," he cut the other off. "Without medicine."
The other looked like he was about to protest when he suddenly yawned. Despite his apparent opposition, the blond began to lower his head onto the other's shoulder.
"But t-the time, class..."
He shushed the other again. "There's plenty of time. Relax, I'll wake you up in time."
The blond paused and searched the other's face for sincerity before his eyes started to droop against his will.
"Thank you..." he mumbled slightly into the other's shoulder.
The brunette simply hummed in reply and leaned against the wall trying not to move the blond too much.
It wasn't long before the brunette felt the other's weight as he slumped against him in unconsciousness.
He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. He never did say what Aoi and his mother were arguing about... He looked back down at the other. The blond had his face partially hidden in the other's shoulder. If it weren't for the bags the other would actually look completely relaxed.
I wonder if they know he has trouble sleeping. Probably not though, since it's always, he paused and looked at the blond again. ... Or at least usually covered up by make up.
He replayed all the times the blond would cling to others and seemingly not let go.
That at least explains a little bit of the clinginess, he watched as the pills fell from the other's hands to the ground as he grip slacked. He was just tired.
As the pair sat there Akira kept a close eye on the time, since the other seemed to want to go to class today. He was just about to wake the other up when the door suddenly flung open.
"Ha! I knew the mute was in here!" a boy with short cropped brown hair walked through the doorway and stopped when he saw the brunette. "Who the hell are you?"
Akira felt his eyes narrow at he rude greeting, and subconsciously moved the blond closer to himself and away from the other in the doorway.
The other watched the action and let a malicious smirk spread over his face. "Oh, so you're fucking him is that it?"
The brunette felt his face flush from anger and began to stand shifting the blond into a easier position for carrying. Unfortunately, the other seemed to take this as embarrassment instead and took no time to point it out.
"Ah, so you are! Who would've thought that the mute was ga-" the other was abruptly cut off as the brunette shoved past him after retrieving both his and Ruki's bags.
"H-hey!" the student recovered as the brunette began to walk away. "Are you mute too?" he tried to sound to threatening, but Akira had already heard the falter in his voice.
The million of different retorts he could give ran across his tongue as the urge to dominate the situation built inside.
It's not worth it... he reminded himself and looked down at his watch. Twenty minutes left. The taunts of the other died away the longer he walked. Lets just find a quiet space.
Which led to the pair being under the large oak tree not long after the confrontation in the music room, with Akira leaning against the tree with his eyes shut, while the other was still using his shoulder as a makeshift pillow for his head.
Akira sighed as the five minute warning bell sounded. The minute I decide to relax...
"Ruki," he gently shook the other's shoulder. He stopped when the other let out a groan of protest. "Come on, class is gonna start."
"Don't wanna go..." the blond murmured.
The brunette laughed breathlessly and replied, "You mean I went through all this trouble for you to not go to class?"
The blond simply shifted down onto the other's lap and crossed his arms. He was about to retort when he noticed that above him wasn't the ceiling he expected, but instead leaves.
"Did s-something happen while I was asleep?"
"Hm?" the brunette looked down at the blond and then up to where he was looking. "Oh..." he contemplated whether or not to say. The other's taunts replayed in his mind again.
He doesn't need to hear any of that, he decided. "No, the room was just getting stuffy."
He resisted the urge to indulge in his nervous habits as the other studied him. The brunette sighed as the blond nodded and looked back towards the sky. "It does that sometimes."
“Where are you going?” the brunette asked as the other stood up.
“To class,” the other answered simply.
“Ugh, I don't want to go,” the brunette said dramatically as he sprawled out across the grass. He felt a smile spread across his face when the other's laughter rang out in the air.
He pretended to be asleep as the blond tugged on his arm. He broke character and smiled when the other let out a huff and dropped his arm. “Hypocrite.”
They both paused when the bell rang out again signaling anyone not in class was late. The brunette let out a shout of surprise when the other suddenly flopped back down on him. “What now?”
The blond leaned back and crossed his arms. “We're late. There's no point in going now.”
The brunette laughed and leaned back against the tree. “It's really amazing how your grades still manage to stay where they are with how much you skip class.”
“I make up for it with t-tests...” the other mumbled. “Besides you're not doing much better.”
“Hey!” And with that the two bantered back and forth until the bell rang for the next class rang. He waved as the blond turned around the corner and looked down at his hand. Forgot to give this to him... Which is ironic since I practically ran to my locker to give this to him. He sighed and wrapped his fingers around the small object. At least now I can wait until he'll really need it. I don't know when, but...
The time will come.
- -
Chapter 9
AN: So, tired..... but, I wanted to finish this before I went to sleep so I'll probably edit this later. But anyways, feel free to tell me what you think. (^^")