Disclaimer: Koko wa Greenwood does not belong to me, it belongs to, umm, whoever created it. Since I can't remember who that is at the moment (or did I ever know?) that will have to do. These characters are not mine, and I lay no claim on them, even though torturing Mitsuru is way too much fun.

Oh, and by the way . . . this fic is most definitely YAOI! You have been duly warned so DON'T FLAME ME IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT!

By Issei no Miko

When Shinobu reflected back on it all, he decided that it really wasn't his fault.

After all, he reasoned, if Mitsuru hadn't been so perfectly adorable from Day One, none of this would have happened. If Mitsu didn't walk just that certain way, didn't have such a come-hither smile, if his hair didn't fall just so across his forehead and his eyes weren't such an enticing shade of violet . . . none of this would have happened.

All in all, it was entirely Mitsuru's fault.

Yes, Shinobu thought, his lips curving into a lazy smile as he watched the object of his affections sleep peacefully, this was entirely Mitsuru's fault.

^_~

A few weeks before. . . .

"Nani?" Mitsuru asked for the seventh time that evening.

"Hmmm?" Shinobu hmmmed calmly.

"You keep staring at me. Any particular reason?" The golden-headed boy was beginning to get irritated, if only because it was getting difficult to concentrate on his homework.

"None at all," his roommate grinned in reply.

Mitsuru sighed. He had no idea what had been with Shinobu lately. He acted . . . weird. Even for Shinobu; watching him all the time.

/Not,/ spoke up a rebellious voice in the back of his mind, /that you mind the extra attention./

He stopped that train of thought before it could go any further. /Cut that out. I am not going to think like that. I'm not./

Even so, he found his gaze shifting from the paper in front of him of its own accord, traveling over the lithe form, the silvery hair, the--

/He's looking at me!/ Mitsuru's gaze snapped away, back to his homework.

Shinobu saw the faint blush climb into the other boy's face, and smirked.

^_~

WHAM! The magazine came down mercilessly on Hasukawa's head.

"This is algebra," Mitsuru reminded him severely.

"Hai, senpai, I know," Suka said wearily. This was the sixth time in ten minutes that Mitsuru had smacked him with that damned magazine. He barely had time to wonder why before he was hit with it again, this time for spacing off. "This is exams week! Do you want to flunk?!"

After thwaking Suka a seventh time, Mitsuru told himself very firmly to relax. Just because he was feeling jumpy was no reason to be beating the stuffing out of the underclassman.

And yet, he could feel Shinobu's eyes on him, watching him with the same amused detachment that they'd held for days. Observing him, analyzing him. It was going to drive him crazy if it didn't stop. He shivered, and suddenly wanted to hit Hasukawa again.

Suka watched his senpai's hand tighten around the magazine out of the corner of his eye, and almost subconsciously began to work harder, pencil and figures flying across the page in messy-but-legible scrawl. One thing to be said about Mitsuru's tutoring methods, they got you motivated, and Hasukawa's grades had gone up considerably.

"Slow down," Mitsuru told him. "It won't do you any good if sensei can't read it."

"Hai," the red-head muttered, concentrating firmly on the paper in front of him.

Mitsuru resisted the urge to squirm uncomfortably in his seat, feeling his roommates eyes burn into him. He could imagine the expression, one he'd seen may times now. Faint amusement sparkling in the silver-blue depths coupled with careful observation; and there was something else, something darker, richer, and far more intense.

Mitsuru swallowed audibly, feeling the hair prickle on his arms and the back of his neck. /Yamero!/

"A. . . ano, senpai? Oi!" Hasukawa was demanding his attention.

"Er, hai," he responded uneasily, suddenly wanting to be somewhere, anywhere else but where he was right then. "You're doing better. See if you can do it on your own for a while," he said quickly, standing. "It's getting late. I'm gonna go take a bath." He stood and strode out of the room without another word.

Hasukawa stared after him, amazed. Mitsuru had seemed . . . uncomfortable! He shook his head slowly. Impossible. He looked at the clock on the wall.

"It's only six," he remarked, startled.

Shinobu, silent till now, grinned, catlike. "He's had a. . . hmm, stressful week."

Suka decided that the almost predatory look on the older boy's face was rather frightening but asked, "honto? How so?"

A moment later he realized he was talking to nothing, because Shinobu had vanished out the door as well.

Hasukawa sat alone in room 211 and decided that the kami were laughing at him.

^_~

Mitsuru sank down into the water wearily. God, he was tired. He'd barely gotten any sleep at all this week, knowing that Shinobu was sleeping just below him.

This wasn't supposed to happen, dammit. Life had been good, uncomplicated, and he'd liked it that way. Things had been simple. His brain had worked. Now it seemed like he was a bundle of raw nerves, and he didn't like not being in control of the situation at all. Of course, falling in love with your best friend could--

"Aaaaagh," he groaned, and slipped into the warm water up to his nose, closing his eyes. /I don't need this. Honto./

"You know, drowning yourself isn't going to solve anything," a familiar voice remarked.

Mitsuru started, jumped to his feet, "Shino--" and was neatly cut off as the feet he jumped to weren't underneath him. He went crashing backwards into the water, effectively splashing it everywhere.

He came up a second later, sputtering, and looked at the cause of his troubles through a curtain of dripping golden hair.

There stood Shinobu- now sopping wet from the Mitsuru-made tidal wave- completely and unabashedly naked.

"Erk. . . ." Mitsuru's upper lip twitched, the only outward sign that he was trying not to gawk.

"Clever," and Shinobu's face was as smug as a cat who'd just cornered a mouse.

"Shut up," Mitsuru growled, recovering his scattered senses. Oh, of all the people he didn't want to see right now, Shinobu was definitely number one. Especially since they were both nude, which was giving his already overworked imagination some real material to go to town with. But then, Shinobu would be nude if he planned to take a bath.

"Waitaminute. It's only six o'clock. What are you doing here?" He eyed his roommate suspiciously, which was a good trick since he was trying not to look at him. /What the hell's wrong with me?/ he scolded himself. /It's not as if we've never been naked together before, we take baths almost every day./ Except that recently he'd been doing a good job of avoiding Shinobu in the baths, or at least avoiding being alone with him.

"I could ask you the same thing," Shinobu replied, unruffled as always. "I'm here to take a bath. Though it looks like that might be difficult, since you splashed all the water out of the tub."

That was it. No mention of the fact that it was a little odd to be bathing so early, or that this meant that there wouldn't be anyone else in there for a couple of hours. . . how the hell could Shinobu just stand there like that, not caring at all that he was so exposed. . . /Stop thinking about it!/ he ordered frantically, alarmed at the tightening in the pit of his stomach. If he were to embarrass himself now, he'd never here the end of it, especially since they were both nude . . . oh gods, there it was again.

"Oh," he managed at last, for lack of anything better to say, and stared at his suddenly fascinating hands as he stood up carefully. "I'll, uh, fill it up again."

He stepped out of the tub and walked over to the faucets, feeling infinitely vulnerable in his nakedness.

Shinobu crossed his arms across his bare chest, tilting his head to one side as he watched Mitsuru turn on the water, appreciating the way the muscles rippled beneath his smooth, flawless skin. He pondered vaguely how much paler his own skin was to Mitsuru's, and then wondered if he would get the opportunity to find out.

"What are you smirking about?" Mitsuru asked nervously.

"Nothing at all."

Silence reigned as the two faced each other, the steam rising from the filling bath to cloud and warm the room.

Mitsuru caught his eyes roaming and jerked them down to the floor, praying that the heat he felt was just his blush. Shinobu's eyebrows rose ever so slightly.

"Bad week?"

He shrugged and noticed how sore the muscles in his shoulders were. "I guess. Stressful."

"Honto? Why?" Shinobu's voice was watered silk.

"Uh. . . ." /Stuck. Dammit. Now what? Excuse. I need an excuse--/

"Oh, I get it," the silver-haired boy smiled slightly.

"E. . . eh? You do?" Mitsuru cried, his mouth going dry.

"Hai," Shinobu replied in what could almost be called a seductive voice, taking a slow step forward.

"A. . . ah," Mitsuru's eyes went wide, his heart pounding so hard in his chest that he was surprised it didn't break through his ribs. He tried to move, tried to step back as Shinobu walked deliberately toward him; /move dammit! Get out--/

/And yet. . . ./ He couldn't make his feet respond to the panic in his mind. He stood frozen to the spot as Shinobu reached him, slipped arms around his neck, threaded slender fingers in his hair. Stood stiffly still as Shinobu's mouth moved with agonizing slowness toward his own.

As Shinobu whispered in his ear, "exams week can be tough."

Mitsuru stared at the other boy as he stepped back, grinning wickedly. "Enjoy your bath," Shinobu purred, and turned to walk away.

Mitsuru gawked after him, blinking, unaware at the sudden shift that took place in his consciousness. He could only stare at the hand that shot out and caught Shinobu's, barely realizing that it was his own.

Shinobu turned, his face for once showing surprise. "Mitsu. . . ." His voice was touched with uncertainty, what was Mitsuru up too?

With a suddenness that surprised him even more, Mitsuru pulled Shinobu to his chest, his hands moving up to grasp the other boy's shoulders. Their eyes met, purpled locking on silver-blue as the two drew closer. Shinobu shivered, the air cool against his skin. Which was strange; hadn't it been hot just a moment ago? But now it seemed cold compared to the heat of his own skin.

/Close./ Shinobu was so close, Mitsuru was painfully aware of every move that his roommate made. In fact, if he moved just a little bit closer. . . .

He was barely aware that his eyes had closed and he had leaned in, until his lips pressed chastely against Shinobu's.

The contact was like an electric shock to the silver-haired boy; it was completely natural and completely unexpected at the same time. Shinobu was very rarely surprised or shocked by anything, but the way he automatically accepted the kiss as if it were the most natural thing in the world astonished him.

/What the hell?!/ Mitsuru's mind reeled. /What. . . what am I. . . . I'm not. Am I? I am! Oh my god. . . . / He yanked himself away, breaking the kiss, and stared at Shinobu with frantic eyes. The next thing he knew he had run out of the room with barely enough presence of mind to wrap a towel around himself before he went pounding down the hall toward room 211.

Alone and unmoving, Shinobu stared in the direction Mitsuru had run off in, trying to understand what had just happened. He touched his fingertips to his lips, his expression bemused, while behind him the bathtub quietly overflowed.

^_~

The sound of running footsteps in the hallway was enough to rouse Shun from his concentration. He rarely had homework, but Suka-chan had been in a particularly foul mood when he'd come back from his tutoring session, so Shun had busied himself by reading a book.

But now he stood up, curious, and opened the door just in time to see Mitsuru flash by, wearing a towel and nothing else. He turned, skidding a little, and rushed into his room, the door slamming behind him.

Shun blinked, still peeking out into the hall. /What in the world. . .?/

He stepped back into his room, closing the door behind him.

"What was that?" Hasukawa asked irritably from the bed.

"Mitsuru-senpai," Shun replied, still puzzled.

Suka muttered something blackly, he was still annoyed with Mitsuru for the headache he'd gotten from today's studying session.

There was a thoughtful silence from Shun, who was wondering what Mitsuru was up to. Never one to deny his curiosity, he stood up and slipped out the door, trying to be quiet so that he wouldn't disturb Suka-chan.

"Ano, Shun. . . ." Kazuya looked up and suddenly realized that he was alone. "Ano. . . ?"

^_~

Mitsuru opened one eye and looked at the door, which was making a loud and irritating sound at him. He grunted in response and waited a moment. The obnoxious knocking sound came again, and he decided he didn't really care about it. He turned his back on the bothersome door and closed his eyes again.

*knock knock knock*

He shut his eyes tighter and pretended not to hear it.

/But what if it's Shinobu. . . ./ that even-more-annoying-than-the-door voice in the back of his mind whispered. /He might feel weird enough about what happened to knock./

With a groan, Mitsuru rolled over onto his back. "Nani?"

"Mitsuru-senpai?" Shun poked his head in the door, long hair falling over his shoulders.

Mitsuru covered his eyes with one hand. "Go away."

Shun blinked. "Nani? I just came to see if you were all right."

The most Mitsuru could tell him on this subject was, "uuurgh."

Shun peered at the older boy, coming up to the bed and leaning over onto his knees. Mitsuru's hair and skin were still damp from the bath, making his hastily thrown-on clothes stick to him awkwardly. His face was faintly flushed.

"Hmmm. So he finally kissed you, ne?"

"NANI?!" Mitsuru sat bolt upright on the bed and stared at the long-haired boy wildly. "Nani. . . you. . . nani?!"

Shun smiled pleasantly. "You two have been after each other for weeks, senpai. Don't worry though, I'm the only one who knows."

Mitsuru tried to digest this information and decided that he had officially gone insane. "The only one who. . . knows?!"

"Hai!"

Mitsuru's head was beginning to pound with the promise of a splitting headache. /I'm tearing myself to pieces over this and he's acting like it's nothing! Why is he grinning like that, anyway?!/ He scowled at Shun irritably, which was uncharacteristic for the usually easy-going boy.

Shun just continued smiling cheerfully. "Relax, Mitsuru-senpai! You shouldn't worry so much." He paused and added, "you'll make yourself sick."

"I'm in the middle of the biggest crisis of my adolescent life. . . and you're worried about me making myself sick?!" Mitsuru exploded.

"Shhh. Calm down," Shun soothed. "It's not the end of the world."

The other boy's replying glare said more than enough, but he collected himself and spoke softly anyway. "Look. Shinobu is my best friend. You don't just go around kissing your best friend while you're both nude and then not worry anything about it!"

Shun blinked. This was new. . . he'd always assumed that Shinobu would make the first move. "So you kissed him?"

"Yes!"

"Oh."

Mitsuru buried his face in his hands with a sigh. Oh, yes, it was going to be one hell of a headache. "Is that all you've got to say?"

"Well, I'm sure it doesn't matter," the younger boy replied quickly. "I mean, he likes you anyway, so who kisses who is no big deal."

Mitsuru's head jerked up. "He does?!"

^_~

Shinobu walked slowly down the hall, wondering if he should go back to his room. Mitsuru would be there, and he wasn't sure that the golden-headed boy wanted to see him right now. He'd run off pretty fast. But then again. . . .

There was that kiss. He smiled. That had been a very pleasant surprise. It was too bad that Mitsu was so stressed out over it.

Shinobu's smile grew wider, and if possible, more catlike. /I'll just have to show him how to relax./

He paused at the door of room 211, contemplating the doorknob and the consequences of turning it. He hadn't expected things to go so fast. He'd always assumed that he would be the one to make the first move. And he'd been planning to wait until he was sure Mitsuru was ready before he made that move. He'd been intending to just give him a nudge in the right direction in the bath house. But trust Mitsuru to make things difficult, he thought with a sigh. At least it made things interesting.

^_~

Shun and Mitsuru looked up in unison as the door opened.

"Shinobu-senpai!" The underclassmen jumped to his feet, brushing strands of pinkish hair from his face. Mitsuru looked away, wondering why his heart had suddenly jumped into his throat.

"I'm, uh, going to go check on Suka-chan," Shun said quickly, hurrying to the door. "Ja!" The door slammed shut, and the silence afterwards was overwhelming.

Mitsuru gritted his teeth. All this week he'd been worrying, wondering, and the whole time Shinobu'd had him wrapped around his little finger. It was time he did something about it. If he wanted to preserve his sanity, he'd have to take matters into his own hands.

He stood up abruptly, hands balled into fists at his sides. "Shinobu!"

"Hai?" Shinobu regarded him coolly, an amused smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

"Er. . . ." It suddenly dawned on him that he had no idea what it was he wanted to say.

"Well?"

Mitsuru stared at his feet. /Dammit!/

Shinobu watched him carefully. Had he made yet another mistake, in coming here? His plans, so carefully laid, had somehow gotten off-track. He didn't especially appreciate this, but he realized now that he should have seen it coming. Mitsu always was the spontaneous one.

Mitsuru was being engulfed by the unpleasant sensation that his head was about to explode. All the tension, all the unspoken words were building up inside of him until he felt that he would burst if he didn't do something. He was gritting his teeth again, nails digging into the soft flesh of his palms. It took all of his control just to keep himself standing there, to keep from - what? There was nowhere for him to run, with Shinobu blocking his only escape. The problem was, he wasn't sure that escape was what he was after.

Shinobu was getting worried. Mitsuru was tense, every line of him taut, and he looked about ready to scream. /I made a mistake somewhere. Where?/

"Mitsuru. . ." He took a step forward, concern for his friend overriding the awkwardness of the situation.

Mitsuru's control snapped. He reached out and pulled Shinobu to him, and held him as though he would die if he let go.

Shinobu's eyes widened surprisedly, and then he smiled softly in understanding. /No, there was no mistake after all./ He put his arms around the other boy gently, and felt him relax for the first time in weeks.

After what seemed like an eternity, Shinobu stepped back to look into his roommate's face. "You had me worried, for a while."

The golden-haired boy laughed softly. Odd, how he could be weary and exhilarated at the same time. "That's comforting."

Shinobu only smiled and shook his head, and leaned in to kiss him. Mitsuru kissed back hungrily, eager for anything the other boy had to offer. Shinobu's tongue ran softly along his lips, and was granted willing access to his mouth.

They stood like that for a long time, lip to lip, tongue to tongue, simply experiencing each other as they hadn't previously been able to. Shinobu was the one who finally broke away, leaning down to trail light kisses on Mitsuru's throat as he nimbly undid the buttons of his shirt. Mitsuru shrugged it off neatly, and helped his roommate off with his own shirt. They embraced again, and Mitsuru ran his fingertips over Shinobu's skin, marveling at the silken smoothness of it. He was just noticing how light-colored it seemed in comparison to his own when Shinobu brought his head up and kissed him with such force that he was left breathless. The dizzying effect of the kiss couple with the sensation of Shinobu's skin against his own was beginning to make him weak in the knees.

"Shinobu," he murmured against the lavender-haired boy's mouth, tugging him in the direction of the bed.

Suddenly, without really realizing how he had gotten there, Mitsuru found himself lying on his back on the bottom bunk, with Shinobu straddling him and grinning like a Cheshire cat. He fingered the waistband of Mitsuru's pants. "Remember, this is all your fault."

Mitsuru never got a chance to protest, nor did he need one.

^_~

Hasukawa Kazuya wandered slowly down the hall, having decided that he needed a break from homework and studying. Shun had been terribly fidgety when he'd come back to their room and had been driving hin to distraction anyway.

He passed room 211, paused, and wondered if Mitsuru was feeling any better. He'd forgiven him for his earlier treatment, and now thought that he'd seemed awfully stressed lately. Suka decided to ask him what was wrong. He hoped his senpai wasn't getting sick or something. Then again, Shinobu could probably come up with something to make him feel better.

Without bothering to knock, Hasukawa pushed open the door.

"YAAAAAAAHHHH!"

For the rest of his life, Suka-chan would never walk into a room without knocking first.

Owari ^_~

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