|
Despair Aura Volume One Written By: Sora Kazuma January 8th 2005 Author's Notes: Unlike most of my stories, this was written in manga format, the pieces cut up into volumes and then into smaller sections called phases. This story is also completely new, so do forgive it if it takes a while to update- between this, my constant RPing and working on Forgotten Memories, I'm kinda swamped ^^; Another warning: This will be Shounen-Ai/Yaoi. How in-depth it will get, I'm not completely sure as the storyline is still coming together and depending on the fan demand. If you have problems with guys on guys, I would suggest not reading this fic. Since this is an original fic, all rights of characters goes to yours truly, Sora Tokumi Kazuma. I have no problem with people using my characters for further stories/ RPing... whatever as long as two rules are met. 1: That person has contacted me and let me know what they are planning to do. 2: Acknowledgement is made somewhere on the profile, site, fanfic....whatever you're planning. If I find out someone somewhere is using my chars illegally you will be hunted down damnit!-*eyes flare and catch on fire evily*- So, without further ado, I give you.... Phase One- Wandering Kitsune "Tatsuya-san? Tatsuya-san!" Nomiko Tatsuya looked up from his tea, bright cerulean eyes blinking wide. "Huh?" he asked. "Isn't this guy just dreamy or what?" Serina Osaka said with a grin, practically shoving the centerfold of her teen magazine in his face. The portrait was of some blonde-headed American actor lying on the beach in the Caribbean. He snorted shoving it back. "Yeah, great. He's cute." He replied trying to keep from rolling his eyes in disgust. "Really?" her brown eyes lit up. "Wow Tatsuya-san, I didn't know you were like that!" His chin hit the table. "Ni-san..." he said looking pleadingly at his sister. "Serina." Rose Tatsuya said, looking up from her romance novel. "Okay... okay... " She grinned setting down the magazine. "But Rosi-chan, picking on your brother is so fun!" Nomiko rolled his eyes, running his fingers through his raven hair. Why, oh why did he have to spend the afternoon with his little sister and her annoying best friend? "Wow! Rose, check him out! That guy's a hunk!" The boy looked up, intending to tell Serina to shut the hell up, his eyes flashing to where the girls were staring off to the busy street. "Hey Serina, you're actually right." Rose blinked. The three were staring at a man waiting at the crosswalk across the street. He was dressed in a white dress shirt, khaki pants and a black duster, black thin-framed glasses hiding his eye color. He had long raven hair that fell in multiple layers over his shoulders, framing his face and falling over his shoulders, strands slipping down past his waist. He ran his hands through his hair, pushing his long bangs out of his face. Nomiko found he couldn't pull his gaze away from the dark-haired stranger. "Yeah...I agree." He said after a moment. "What was that Tatsuya-san?" His eyes blinked wide as he found Serina smirking at him. "W-What?" he asked after a minute. "I heard that!" she giggled. "But I'll keep it to myself. No one else needs to know you have a thing for guys." "Whatever..." he sighed, slumping back down on the table. Serina was the reason he was beginning to hate girls. "I'm sooooo glad I got them to leave me alone!" Nomiko sighed, stretching his arms. It was going on seven in the evening but at least his sister and her friend had headed over to her house...so if he went home now he could have at least a couple hours of peace and quiet. "Get to the house... get my homework done... get online...." His eyes blinked wide as he realized an animal was limping past him. It was a small dog of some sort with reddish brown fur and bright golden eyes. The paws were black with black fur reaching up to its knees and its tail had a white tip on it. It was only walking on three legs, its right foreleg pulled up to its body. "Was that...?" he blinked, watching it go down the street. "...A fox?" he ran back to where it was steadily going down the street. "Uh.... here boy," he said, reaching out for it. "Let me-" It snapped at him, rebounding on all four legs before jerking the third off the ground, reduced to whimpers. "I just want to help you boy. Come on, I won't hurt you." Nomiko persisted soothingly, digging into his shoulder bag. "Here." He pulled out the other half of his sandwich from his bag. "It's food; you can eat it." He offered the ham from the sandwich in the palm of his hand to the small fox. The creature's ear perked up at the rustling sound of the paper wrapping and it's nose started sniffing the air. It hopped forward once, expecting Nomiko to recoil away. When he didn't, it came up to him and sniffed at the meat in his hand. "That's a good boy. I won't hurt ya, I promise." He told him with a smile. The fox scarfed down the meat hungrily, watching him warily. It froze when Nomiko reached out his other hand but all he did was hesitantly scratch the creature behind his ear. It moved into his touch, it's eyes closing. The boy smiled. "See? I won't hurt ya. You're such a beautiful animal. You've got no tags either. I don't see who would let you out on the streets at this time of night without a collar." His blue eyes peered at the leg it was still holding tucked underneath him. "I wanna take you home to have your wounds looked at, but I don't think you'll go for that. Still, I just can't leave you out here like this. Please, don't give me to much trouble, okay?" He went to lift the animal up in the air, being careful not to startle it to badly. When he brushed up against the bad leg the animal bit into his hand, threatening a warning. He winced but didn't drop him. "Sorry boy, I didn't mean it." Tucking the side of his school jacket around him to hide the animal's long bushy tail he quickly made his way home, trying not to move to fast for the wounded animal. He barely made the key in the door of the apartment and used his shoulder to push open the door. "Mom?" he called into the house. When he got no answer, he started in, slipping off his shoes and using his foot to shut the door. He made his way to his room, opening the door, shutting it quickly behind him and setting the dog down on the bed. "Mom and sis aren't home right now, so we have some time." He told the animal, stripping off his school jacket and dress shirt to only leave his tank top covering his lean chest. "You wait right there boy. I'm gonna go get some bandages and something for you to eat." Leaving the room, he headed into the kitchen and found the first-aid box. Upon staring at the refrigerator he glanced from it to the cabinets. "What would a fox eat?" He smiled. "He seemed to like that ham, so I'll get some more." He grabbed an entire package of deli lunchmeat from the frig and headed back down the hall. Pushing open the door he saw the creature lift its head from where it was laying on his bed. He smiled. "You know I get the feeling that you can understand me. Every time I've tried to explain something to you you completely obey." He sat down on the floor in front of the bed, opening the first aid kit. "Well boy, if you can understand me, I want you to help me out. Don't attack me for messing with your leg- I'm just trying to help you." The fox laid its head back down on the bed awaiting his movements. He slowly went for its wounded leg and it didn't move as he picked it up and stretched it out on the blankets. It did however begin to growl as Nomiko took a cotton ball with alcohol on it to the injury. It's gold eyes flashed to his, fangs showing, but as soon as it saw the calm look on the boy's face it quieted, lying its head back down and closing its eyes. It whimpered when he touched an extremely sore spot and the boy comforted it with his soft voice. He bandaged it with gauze and soft wrap, cutting the medical tape with his teeth because he couldn't find a pair of scissors in the metal box. Upon looking at his bandaging job he smiled. "There, that should do it. You should still try and stay off that leg. Those were some nasty bite marks. Whatever did that to you must have been pretty frightening." He looked at his own hand which had been chomped on earlier in the evening as well. The marks by the fangs were still scabbing over with dried blood and the entire area was red and throbbing. It would probably bruise pretty badly. "I should take care of this before Mom has a cow." He said with a sigh, getting out another roll of soft cloth gauze. He felt a pair of teeth on his fingertips again and he jerked his head up. "H-Hey!" he cried, his eyes widening. The fox had managed to sit up, his long tail curling around its feet. It had taken his fingers in its mouth but it wasn't biting hard enough to actually hurt. It pulled his hand back onto the bed and let it go, before elegantly dropping its head, licking at the wound it had caused earlier. Nomiko winced at the feel of the soft tongue on his injury, but he couldn't stop his face from going red. This creature... no matter how beautiful it was, it acted more human then animal. The laps of its tongue felt more like the feeling of a person's lips then anything else. For a moment he thought he was going crazy. Then the fox pounced him, his tongue licking at his chin and cheeks, barking playfully and wagging its long bushy tail. "Feeling better boy?" he asked, bursting into laughter. The dog barked again, its tongue hanging out of its mouth a moment as it panted. He scratched it behind its long perked ears with a smile. "Thanks for trying to make me feel better, though I still have to wrap the hand. Mom would kill me if she saw it, though I really do appreciate the offer." The fox nuzzled its head against his chest before it jerked away, it's ears twitching. Nomiko blinked. "Boy?" There was the sound of the front door closing and the padding of footsteps out in the living room. "Miko? Miko, are you home?" The boy gasped. "Holy shit.Mom's here." Phase One- End -Character Profile- Nomiko Tatsuya Birthday: November 14th Age: 16 Zodiac Sign: Scorpio Element: Water Blood Type: AB Height: 5' 7" Hair color: Black Eye color: Blue Occupation: Student Favorite Subject: Science -- Phase Two- Aura "Miko? Are you here?" "I gotta hide you?!" He freaked out, standing up. "And my hand...she takes one look at it and she'll freak out." "Miko?" "C-Coming Mom!" he yelled, grabbing the roll of gauze. He tore a piece of the medical tape with his teeth as he wrapped the dressing around his hand. Leaving the room, he securely shut the door to his room behind him as he left, taping down the wrap on his hand. He entered the living room just as she dropped her heavy purse on the large coffee table. "You were looking for me?" he asked calmly. His mother turned, her gray-blue eyes staring up at him. "Well, there you are. I was worried something might have happened to-" her eyes widened as she grabbed his wrist. "My God! Nomiko, what happened?!" "It's nothing Mom." He assured her with a smile. "I was cutting up a block of cheese to take with my lunch this morning and the knife slipped. It's just a scratch that's all." "It's not to bad is it? You're not in pain?" she asked, tugging on the bandage. "Let me see." "Uh... that's okay Mom." He pulled away. "I just re-bandaged it. It would be a waste of gauze, and we're almost out as it is." "Okay... if you're sure." She collapsed on the couch. "I don't see why you make your own lunch anyway. Your sister insists on getting those bento boxes for lunch. You should probably do the same if you're hurting yourself on those knives." "Mom, Dad taught me how to use a knife when I was very young. I've made one mistake. It's not that big of a deal." He said with a sheepish smile. He grabbed his shoulder bag with his free hand, swinging it up onto his shoulder. "Welp, I've got a lot of homework to get done. Exams are coming up soon you know." He said with a smile. "And don't worry about dinner for me- Rose and I ate after school." "Okay." His mother smiled back. "Oh, Miko, before you go-" she sat forward, uncrossing her legs. "I ran into Miss Yamugata on the way up and she said she could of sworn she heard barking. Would you know anything about a stray dog wandering around the area?" He froze in his tracks. "No Mom." He said, stressing to keep his voice calm. "I wouldn't know anything about it. I didn't hear it either." He looked back at her with a smile. "Dogs aren't allowed in the apartment complex, remember?" "That's what I told her, but you know how she is. Old lady swears she can hear as well as any young kid." She told him with a grin. "Anyway, thanks for the help love." "No problem." After that he had to resist the urge to dash to his room. Sliding in the narrow gap of the door he sat down his bag. His blue eyes scanned the room, but found no trace of the dog. "Boy? Where'd you go?" A pair of paws stuck out from underneath the bed and the animal crawled out, his tail thumping on the floor as it looked up at the boy. Nomiko sighed, turning on his radio. "You have to keep it down boy. My next-door neighbor heard you, and pets aren't allowed here in the apartments. Mom could get in real big trouble if they found out about you. So please, keep it down." The fox flattened its ears slightly and hopped up onto the bed, lying down and curling it's long bushy tail around it. Nomiko smiled at it, watching it make itself cozy before he opened his textbooks and made himself comfortable on the floor. He heard his sister come in later on, take a bath and go to bed. He continued to work on his homework for the most part, getting lost in a few of his favorite songs when the DJ played them. It was after one when he finally finished, shoving his books back into his shoulder bag and getting his stiff body off the floor. Making his way over to his bed, he looked down on the half-asleep fox. "Boy, you need to move it, or I'm going to pass out on top of you." The fox opened one gold eye but made no motion of getting up. "Please boy," he said, fighting to stay awake, but his eyes were just too heavy. "If you won't get off my bed, then at least move over." At that the animal got up, snuggling itself up in the top right corner of its bed and went back to sleep. Nomiko, to tired to complain further, pulled the covers up over himself and laid down with his back to the creature. "Oyasumi...." He murmured as he fell asleep. "Onii-san! Get up!" Nomiko bolted away at the sound of his sister's voice. The first thing that came to mind was that he had been found out and his pet was now in danger. His cerulean eyes snapped open and he threw the covers off himself. "Rose where is it?!" he demanded, looking at his sister. "Where is what?" she asked, blinking her gray eyes. "Where's the fox?!" he asked, glancing around. "What did you do with him?!" "A fox? Onii-san...are you alright? You slept through your alarm...come on. You're gonna be late if you don't get up now." She looked down at his hand. "Mom told me about your hand...you sure you're okay?" "I'm fine." He assured her, getting up. This was way to weird. "Well alright. You can go ahead and take the shower first, but hurry up. Serina and Yoshi are going to be here soon." She told him. Nomiko nodded, leaving his room and heading for the bathroom. Undoing the wrap around his hand, he stared at it. There was no wound- no sign he had ever been bitten. Had he just dreamed it, made it all up? No way. But the fox was gone and there was no way a wound that bad could heal completely over night. Remembering his sister's words he got in and out of the shower quickly, running back to his room with a towel around his waist just as the doorbell went off. His sister glared at him but went to answer the door anyway in her pajamas. They were really late and it was mostly his fault. He got dressed in his school uniform, grabbing another dress shirt from the one he wore yesterday due to the blood on it... While he was at it, he checked his room top and bottom, making sure the creature wasn't hiding away somewhere. But with the window still locked and the door closed and locked all night where had the animal gotten too? "Miko, I'm going to leave with out you in three seconds if you don't get out here!" Rose yelled, standing in the doorframe of the front door. "I'm coming!" he called back, slipping the shoulder bag over his head. "Tatsuya-sempai, what's wrong?" Yoshi asked, blinking his brown eyes as they hopped the subway to get to class. He smiled at the boy. Yoshi was only two months younger then him and yet he refused to call Nomiko anything but Tatsuya-sempai. "Nothing. I was just-" "Having delirious dreams about a fox. Onii-san you work to much." Rose let out a sigh. "Honestly, the kitsune spirits probably have possessed your mind with all the studying you do. Only those mischievous ghosts could have the power to make you obsess over your homework." "Well excuse me for wanting to get into Tokyo University." He shot back. "At least I won't have to go to some prep school to pass the entrance exams." He smirked as he saw his sister grit her teeth. Rose was currently enrolled in night school because she showed poor progress on her practice entrance exams. "Am I right, Ni-san?" "Do you want to go to an early grave Miko-chan, cuz I'll gladly send you there." His sister replied, threatening him with her fist. "Aw, guys stop!" Serina giggled. "Although, it is cute to watch Tatsuya-san act so big and bad." Nomiko's face went red while Rose just rolled her eyes. "Osaka-sempai, you do realize that's my little brother you're talking about." "Yep, of course I do!" she beamed. "Why do you think I hang out with you in the morning Rosi-chan? Because Tatsuya-san and Nomura-chan are absolutely adorable!" she wrapped her arms around the girl's neck. "Plus you make the boring subway ride interesting." "Gee... thanks." Rose said, multiple stress marks popping up over her head. "She scares me." Nomiko sighed to his friend. "I agree." Yoshi smiled at him. "Oh, Tatsuya-sempai, did you hear? Hitsugawa-sensei went on her maternity leave starting today, so the school has hired a long-term replacement for her." "We have a new physics teacher?" he blinked. "But I really liked her! She was about the only one who would let me get away with conducting my own experiments in class!" "Hopefully the new teacher will be just as cool. I overheard some of the female teachers yesterday and they said he was really good. Apparently not bad looking either from what they were saying." Yoshi said with a sheepish grin. "Who's not bad-looking?" Serina spun around, literally throwing herself into the middle of the conversation. "The new physics teacher." Yoshi told her. "Know anything about him?" "No...and I keep up on all the gossip in school." She pouted. "How come I didn't know!?" "Physics eh?" Rose smirked. "Well there goes Onii-san's best grade out the window." "Hey!" he gritted his teeth. "That was uncalled for!" The arguing continued all the way to the school entrance, where Serina and Rose split from the other two to head off the their home room, a grade higher then the boys. "You're sister's not going to live this down that they got rid of your favorite teacher." Yoshi told him with a sympathetic smile. "I know." Nomiko slumped in his seat. "Well school officially sucks now." "What sucks?" They turned seeing a pretty young girl with short crimson hair pulled into plaits and green eyes watching them. "Oh," Nomiko straightened in his seat. "Morning Itsuki-chan." "Morning!" Sakura Itsuki smiled. "So, what's bothering you so bad?" she asked. "Miss Hitsugawa left for maternity leave today...which means we have a new teacher." Yoshi explained. "Which means my life sucks. How am I going to be able to do my college-level experiments with a new teacher? Physics will become a wimpy no-challenge class again and I'll be able to sleep through most of it and get all my work done in the last fifteen minutes." Nomiko rested his chin in his arms. "Well, hope for the best. You were the best in the class- maybe Hitsugawa-sensei left some harder work to accomplish while she's gone." Sakura told him with a smile. Nomiko huffed. "I doubt it." The day passed in a blur of activity and all along Nomiko was dreading fifth period. As they packed their things up to head down to the lab for the last half of the day, Nomiko pondered leaving school now and cutting the last two classes. However, Sakura was on to his little plan and walked with him down to the lab, complaining about how their last assignment was driving her crazy and how she couldn't get the equations right. And, like any nerd, Nomiko jumped right in without thinking, helping her out with the places she was getting stuck. Before they knew it they were seated at their respectable tables in the lab, having pulled their stools up next to one another to continue the conversation. Yoshi watched with a shake of his head. Sakura knew how to keep him distracted that was for sure. The lab door shut as a tall streak shot in from outside, commanding total silence from everyone in the room. The streak that had come in was standing behind the teacher's desk at the head of the room, dressed in the school uniform jacket and pants, a white lab coat thrown over it. His long raven hair was tied back into a ponytail, stray pieces framing his face and his eyes watched everything, everyone in the room, the light illuminating the gold hues at their center. His amber eyes...were inhuman. Nomiko just about fell off his stool. Yoshi blinked, steadying him with a hand. "You alright man? You know this guy or something?" he whispered. Nomiko shook his head, though he couldn't shake that he was right. This was the stranger from yesterday, the man Serina, Rose and him had seen out in front of the caf� after school. He smiled after a moment, his dark features lighting up. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to make so much noise entering the room. I am Tsugara Satoshi, though you may address me as Mr. Tsugara, Tsugara-sensei, whatever you like as long as it's mildly respectable. And you-" he grinned. "Are the infamous class 2-A, the class of genius and troublemakers. I have heard much about you, sophomores." His eyes lighted on Nomiko and widened ever slightly in surprise. For a minute the boy felt like he had stopped breathing, like the very air in his lungs had been stolen away. But as lightly as his gaze was locked with him, their teacher moved away, flashing another grin. "I know much of your pranks and I will let you know I will not tolerate them in my class." Nomiko had a weighted feeling that comment was directed at him. The teacher moved from out behind the desk, jumping up to sit on it. "However, this class is supposed to be fun, and I will assure you, it will be. I will also inform you that I am not Miss Hitsugawa." "The hell you're not Mr. T." One of the other boys in the class called. "Have you seen her lately? She's as big as a blimp!" Their new teacher smiled. "I have seen Miss Hitsugawa. And why she might be holding the record for the biggest waistline of pregnant women in Japan, she's still a very nice, well-respected lady and her teaching style is something to be commended. What I meant was that I'm not her in that my teaching style is completely different. There will be no homework for as long as I'm here. Projects will be due every three days instead of every other day and tests will be every three weeks instead of every two. You've been given slack but should I find it's making you slack off, we'll go back to her style of teaching." "We won't disappoint you Mr. T!" another one of the boys spoke up with a grin. The whole class was talking about their new class schedule. "I hope not." He smiled back at them. "Now I believe you all have lab work to be doing. You're projects are still due tomorrow." At the chorus of groans he got he grinned. "Miss Hitsugawa assigned the assignment, not me. This one is out of my hands. Though, if I find you all buckling down on your work I'll extend the time period to the end of class tomorrow instead of the beginning. Better get cracking on those books." He hopped off the desk. "Is Tatsuya Nomiko here?" he asked, glancing at the group. "I'm right here sir." He stood up. For some reason his heart was racing in his chest. Their teacher nodded. "I figured. Come, follow me." He led him out of the lab and into the office. Nomiko had been in here dozens of time but for some reason being alone with this man was causing his breath to catch in his throat. "Miss Hitsugawa and I talked about you for a while." He said, going behind the desk. "And instead of giving you a chance to slack off, we're doing the exact opposite." He lifted a heavy stack of work booklets up onto the desk, wincing at his hand as he sat them down. Nomiko blinked. "Are you alright?" "Huh?" his teacher blinked. "Oh, yeah. I just burned my hand last night attempting to cook." He grinned. "No big deal, it just stings a lot." "Check these out- these are you're new assignments." Nomiko got closer, reading the text on the top one with surprise. "These are-" "Second year physics course books from Tokyo University. This stack is the complete year. If you can take all these, you can pass the entrance exams to Tokyo U now and be in college by next spring." His teacher explained. "That's...incredible." He said, running his fingers through his hair. "You're telling me. You're only sixteen, correct?" at the nod the boy gave him, he smiled. "I'm taking these classes now at the college." "Sir..." he swallowed. "It's no big deal. But this is your assignment. Let me know if you need any help on it. Oh and you've been dismissed from your math class." He told him after a second. The boy's jaw dropped. "But why?!" "You already passed it for the year. And To help me around here. I need a decent aide and you'll get some teaching hours in, if you'd like." He winked at him. "We're gonna do all we can to get you into Tokyo U, and as quickly as possible." Nomiko was practically glowing when he left school. This had turned out better then he had ever dreamed. He hung out with Yoshi for a little while at the arcade but he quickly excused himself to get home and get started on this work. He had taken the textbook and two of the workbooks home, determined to get through one of them tonight. Upon entering his bedroom, he was pounced by a crimson streak with a bushy tail and a warm tongue. "Hey boy!" he laughed, dropping his shoulder bag to hug the fox to him. "I thought you were gone. You must have found a really good hiding spot to sleep in this morning. Rose thought I was crazy when I mentioned you but at least she didn't know." Feeling a breeze blow through his hair he looked up, finding the bedroom window open. "Did you figure out the lock? What a smart boy!" he scratched him behind the ears. "I guess I'll leave it open so you can leave whenever you want to. How's your paw doing?" He unwrapped the paw to find it still tender and healing only to re-wrap it with fresh bandages. "There ya go, good as new. It really is starting to look better." He started pulling books out of his backpack and the fox curled up by his side on the floor. "I have to get my homework done boy." He told him when the fox began nuzzling the back of his palm. "You know, I need to stop calling you boy." He sat his books down. "You need a name. You probably have one, but I should come up with one for you as well. The way you listen so well and the way you act...your aura is just like that of a human's." He snapped his fingers. "That's it! You're nickname's Aura. It's something I can remember you by until we find out what you're real name is. Do you like it, Aura?" His only response was a million licks in the face by the fox as he tackled him to the floor. Phase Two- End -Character Profile- Satoshi Tsugara Birthday: May 29th Age: 19 Zodiac Sign: Gemini Element: Wind Blood Type: O Height: 5'11" Hair color: Black Eye color: Amber Occupation: Teacher Subject of Profession: Physics -- Phase Three- Awakening "You know, this stuff is kinda hard. Really hard." Nomiko sighed, dropping his pen. He had been sitting here for four hours and he had only managed to finish a chapter in the first workbook. "I have no clue how to figure this out." He leaned back, collapsing back on the carpet. "I wish I had Tsugara-sensei's phone number or something... he said he was taking these classes at Tokyo U." A hot blush spread all over his face. "Man, what am I thinking? I can't call him! He's my teacher! And he probably has better things to do on a Wednesday night then tutor a student who can't even figure out this basic equation!" He beat his forehead into the floor once for good measure for coming up with that stupid idea before he collapsed back onto the carpet. "I will admit," he started after a minute, getting up and going over to lie on his bed. The fox's didn't move from his place on the floor, but his ears pricked up. "He is rather cute. I don't normally go for the guys, but he's an exception." His face went red. "I really like Itsuki-chan too. Out of all the girls in our grade she's probably the most tolerable. And she's really pretty too, plus she's sweet. It's to bad Yoshi has a crush on her too, or I would have already asked her out." He ran his fingers through his bangs. "And don't ask me why I'm telling you all this Aura. I guess it's because you can actually understand me that I find myself talking to you. You'll keep my secrets for me, won't you, Aura?" he sat up just in time to catch the fox, nosing through his book and papers. "Aura!" he hissed, jumping off his bed to shoo the dog away from his work. "Don't mess with those! They belong to Tsugara-sensei and they're really expensive!" The fox whimpered, jumping up onto the bed, his ears flattening submissively. He huddled up in a ball, hiding his face with his tail. "Aura..." he reached over, scratching the creature behind the ears. It responded with moving into his touch unhiding its face. "I'm sorry for yelling at you." He said after a moment. "Let me put these books away and then I'm heading to bed." Getting up, he leaned down folding his bookmark in the textbook. As he did so his eyes glanced over the page and he scanned the one next to it, only to find the formula he had spent the last two hours looking for. "Aura..." he looked up at the bed where the sleeping fox lay. "Thanks a lot. You just saved me from humiliation." The only sound he heard was the thumping of the fox's tail on the covers as it wagged back and forth. Aura was gone again in the morning when Nomiko awoke but he wasn't really all that surprised. He got in the shower before his sister was awake and was out of it just as her alarm went off. He was in the kitchen making breakfast when she came storming in in a bath towel, her steel eyes flaring. "What's the big idea, you jerk!" she demanded, slamming her hand down on the counter. "Huh? He blinked. "What are you going on about?" Before he could protest she had dragged him out of his chair and into the bathroom. "I don't know, you tell me." She replied, pointing to the bottom of the shower stall. His eyes widened. "What the?!" An inch or two of snow blanketed the bottom of the shower and the entire room felt cold. "If you were mad at me because I was picking on you about your grades yesterday you didn't have to take it this far. I don't even want to know where you got snow in the middle of June, but it's not funny." She hissed. "I...didn't do this." He said after a moment. "I know that seems impossible, but I didn't-" "Don't give me that!" she snapped, reaching up to run her hand through his hair. "You're head's still warm from the shower and your hair's still soaking wet. Besides you're the only other person in the house. I'm telling Mom when she gets home- I can't believe you'd lie straight to my face." "But I didn't-" "GET OUT." She said, backing him towards the door. "I have to clean up this mess before I can take a shower, and I'm pressed for time as it is." Nomiko left quietly. He'd never seen his sister so angry. Deciding it was probably best not to stick around he got his things and left. He took an earlier train to the school building and went into school nearly an hour early. His homeroom was still locked so he wandered the halls for a while. Somehow his feet took him to the science wing and he was surprised to find the door to the physics room open, the lights on. "Hello?" he called into the empty room. "Is anybody in here?" "Yeah." There was a shout back from the office on the other side of the room. "Come on in." He hesitantly walked to the entrance of the office and poked his head inside. "Uh... good morning sir." Satoshi looked up, a stray lock of raven hair falling in his view. He carelessly brushed it away, sitting down his paperwork. "Ah, good morning Tatsuya. You're here early." "Yes sir." He nodded. "Trouble with my older sister and-" "Say no more. I know how older sisters can be." He smiled at him. "Did you try any of that physics work last night?" "Yes I did sir and-" "It's Tsugara." He told him. "You don't have to call me sir. I don't personally like it. I'm young- I'm not the principal." "Uh, yes si- Tsugara-sensei." He said with a sheepish smile. "Much better." He leaned back in his chair. "So, about the work? How was it?" He swallowed. "Actually, I'm having trouble with it." "Oh?" his teacher blinked. "With what?" "I get the concept of it just fine, but the equations.it's not syncing up in my head like it usually does." He pulled out his textbook and the work booklet from his shoulder bag. "If it hadn't been for Aura, I probably wouldn't have finished chapter two last night." "Aura?" his teacher tilted his head to the side. "Is that your sister?" "No actually, he's my dog." He ran his fingers through his bangs. He had to be sounding incredibly stupid right now and his face was threatening to flush red. "He was lying on the floor with my books and accidentally put me on the page I had been looking for for about two hours. I don't know why but for some reason I couldn't get it through my head last night." "May I see you're work?" he asked holding out his hand. Nomiko offered him his workbook and his hand trembled when their fingertips touched. He began inwardly cursing himself but his face flushed when his teacher didn't let go. "Hey." He said after a minute. "Don't be so nervous." He pulled away setting the book down on his desk and flipping open the cover. Nomiko stood there as he looked over the pages. "I can see what you mean. Your calculations are off on a few of the formulas. Still, I'm impressed. You did four days work in a night with an overall score of probably an eighty. The work is thorough; you're good." He flipped back to the first chapter. "If you'd like, I could go over these with you and show you the tricks the professors at the university taught me for problems like this." His heart skipped a beat. "Please, could you? If it will help me correct my mistakes." "Sure." He motioned to a chair in the corner, pilled high with boxes. "If you wanna move that stuff to the floor and grab that chair, we can probably get through a few of these this morning before the opening bell rings." Nomiko was surprised at how easily he could talk to this man. He seemed more like an old best friend then a complete stranger. They laughed over physics rules and Satoshi busted out his own notes from the class to make it more understandable for the high school student. "Is that the opening bell already?" Nomiko asked, lifting his head. "Yeah. Why don't you head down to your homeroom and let your teacher know you're here with me. You do have math first period?" his teacher told him with a smile. "Yeah... I do." He blinked. He'd forgotten that he was now aiding for the first hour of school. The day passed by before Nomiko could even think about it. He spent the morning hours running errands for Mr. Tsugara then he went back to class for two more periods before he headed back to the lab. He had managed to crack through half of chapter three with his teacher's help and the two set up at the front desk during the physics class, running through formulas and equations. "Excuse me, Tsugara-sensei?" They looked up from the textbook seeing Sakura staring back at them. She blushed slightly. "Nomura-san and I need help on this problem." Satoshi's amber eyes shifted to meet Nomiko's. "Why don't you go help her out?" "Huh?" the boy blinked. "Well, you do like her, don't you?" he said, his voice barely a whisper. When the boy blushed, he smiled. "Go ahead. Play the hero for once." "Alright Tsugara-sensei." He stood up, making his way toward them. "What'd you guys need?" Sakura's emerald eyes shined. "Thanks so much for the help Tatsuya-san!" she beamed at him. "Right here. No matter how we try the equation won't add up to the correct theory. I think we screwed our numbers up somewhere." He took their paper from her, looking it over. "Yeah, right here. You're decimal is all wrong... it's throwing off the rest of the problem." "I told you!" Yoshi replied. His brown eyes flashed to Nomiko's blue ones. "Thanks a lot man." "Sorry, I'm no good with math..." Sakura pouted. "Please, just go easy on me about this, okay Nomura-san?" She smiled at Nomiko. "I see where I made my mistake. I'll go back and recheck it. Really, thanks a lot for the help, Tatsuya-kun." He blushed. "It's nothing really." He turned, heading back to the front desk. The couple got back on their project, Yoshi walking her through it. "So, how'd it go?" his teacher asked with a smile as he slumped in his seat. "I feel like I betrayed somebody." He muttered. "Huh? Why so?" he asked, leaning on his arms that were folded on the table. "Because Itsuki-chan is Yoshi's girl. Not officially, but he's had a crush on her since we were little kids. I can't try to steal Sakura away from him now. It's no good." He explained, keeping his voice low. The classroom was loud but still, he didn't want to be overheard. "But how does she feel about him?" he asked with an amused gaze. "It doesn't matter how badly he feels for her if the feeling isn't mutual. And besides, Nomura-kun doesn't seem like the jealous type. He seems more like the sad, timid type." "You're right......." Nomiko sighed, gazing off at his friend. "And that's why I can't possibly step in to his place." "You're such a good guy Tatsuya-kun." He smiled at him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Now come on, you've got to try and get this chapter done before class ends." "Yo, Mr. T! Some help here please!" Nomiko started to get up and was pushed back down into his seat. "I got this one." His teacher told him. "You work on chapter three." Nomiko wandered around with Yoshi after school. He was dreading going home and was trying to think of some lame excuse to tell his mom the next morning when he hadn't come in until after she had gone to bed. "Come over to my house man and hang out. We'll just tell your mom you're helping me study. Besides, my parents are away on business this week. It's perfect." Yoshi told him with a smile. "...Alright man." He said finally. He was worried about leaving Aura locked up in his room all day, but he had left the window ajar so that if worst came to worst the animal could escape. Even with that reassured in his mind, he felt uneasy. He got the feeling he was being watched. That feeling quickly dissipated as soon as they got to Yoshi's. They made a pizza and sat down in the living room, playing away on the video game console. Around 9:15 Nomiko got up, prepared to leave. "I gotta get going. Mom should be asleep by now. She's working early tomorrow so I know she's in bed already." "Alright dude. Try not to get into to much trouble. You're mom's gotta be pretty reasonable about this. I mean, snow, in the bathtub? Come on." Yoshi smiled. "See you at school tomorrow." "Yeah, goodnight." He walked the streets, hands shoved in his jacket pockets. "I know... snow in the bathroom...it doesn't make any sense..." The sound of rapid footsteps were heard behind him and he turned just as he was pounced, thrown to the ground. "Aura!" he replied, recognizing the familiar silky brown fur and glittering amber brown eyes. "What-" His words were silenced by a crack of lightning that hit the very spot he had been standing in moments before. His eyes widened and he glanced up at the sky. It had been a beautiful moonlit night out minutes before. When had the storm clouds rolled in? "Not bad, mutt." A masculine voice spoke up. Nomiko raised his head, staring at the large form of a black wolf standing ten to fifteen feet away, it's crystal blue eyes calmly watching them both. "I'm actually impressed." The boy gasped. Was that wolf...actually speaking? The fox had stood its ground, baring its fangs as it snarled. Every inch of fur on its body had raised and its tail curled around its side, dragging on the ground, the tip bristling. It let out a sharp bark, flattening its ears to its head. "Such big talk for such a little creature." The wolf lowered its head and suddenly the form of the dog was gone, replaced by a hulking statue of a man with short spiky raven hair and blue-green eyes. "Come on mongrel. If you're so fired on protecting him, let's see what you got." "Aura!" Nomiko called as the fox charged him, leaping in to the air, to tear at his face. The small dog was thrown aside by the man's gigantic arm before he could get anywhere near his target, the side of the animal slamming into the concrete wall before hitting the ground. The boy gasped, his eyes widening. Between the brute strength of this man, there was no way the animal was still alive. He had killed the fox without even thinking about it. "You bastard!" he yelled. "How dare you hurt him?!" The man glanced up momentarily at him before staring at where the creature had landed. "Come on, you waste of life, get up." He murmured. "You killed him asshole!" Nomiko snapped back. "There's no way-" his voice gave out at the sound of whimpers coming from the lifeless body. The fox struggled to its feet, its amber eyes set determinedly on it's opponent. Nomiko's breath evaporated in his throat. "Aura..." The fox attacked again, only to be tossed aside in the wall. The boy clenched his fists feeling utterly helpless. For some reason this man, this wolf- whatever he was, was after his dog and no matter what he couldn't do anything about it. There was no way he could take him on and live to tell his tale. He didn't even know how the animal could get up again after being thrown full force into the wall twice. Blood dripped from its mouth and it was barely able to stand but it would not back down from this fight. "Well, well, well, I underestimated you Tsugara." The man crossed his arms. "You do tend to surprise me. It's probably what I love about you the most." "Tsugara...?!" Nomiko's blue eyes widened. The man laughed. "Ah apparently a name you recognize, boy. What form has he taken this time to get near you? A neighbor? A coach? That's how he works." The fox growled, pinning its ears back. "What? Upset that I've figured out your little trick? I know how you work, or did you forget that on your little quest?" the man smirked. "Look at you- still cowering in that tiny form. Does this boy really mean that much to you that you'd hide your true form from him?" His cyan eyes glanced to the boy. "Maybe he isn't the one you've been looking for all this time. We should found out, shouldn't we?" "Don't you dare!" the fox barked and Nomiko gasped, hearing the echo of his teacher's voice in the tone. The animal lunged at him only to get caught by the throat in the man's grip. "Give it a rest Tsugara. You're not even giving me a fight." The man said, tossing him aside and into the ground with the most fluid of movements but enough to hear the sickening thud of the body as it hit the asphalt. "Now, where was I?" "Damnit all..." Nomiko cursed. In two seconds this man would be after him and there was nothing he would be able to do to stop him. The rain began to fall from the sky as if the heaven's opened up, pouring buckets down on them. The man was coming toward him through the storm and yet somehow he couldn't run away. "God damnit all..." He closed his eyes, holding his hands up so that the rain was hitting his open palms. If he were going to die...then at least it would be like this. He found an amazing amount of energy building up within him in the next few seconds and it all happened so fast that he didn't know what had happened until his knees had given out on him. The wolf man was gone, the pouring rain has disappeared along with the clouds and he was feeling like he had run a marathon. He stood up, trying to gather a breath. There was a body lying further off on the asphalt. He swallowed. Was that the man who had tried to attack him? He thought about running off, but his conscious fought against it. He neared the form and his eyes blinked wide when he recognized the long curtain of dark hair. The body had been lying in the exact place where Aura had gone down the last time he had fought back. "Tsugara!" he called, rushing over to him. Kneeling beside him, he picked him up, brushing long locks of hair out of his face. "Satoshi Tsugara!" The man's complexion was so pale... and blood was trickling from the corners of his lips. His shirt was torn to shreds, claw and bite wounds massing his chest, blood staining the cloth of his jacket. Looking at him this close, it felt like the fox was right here, taking his place. "Satoshi!" he called again, biting down on his lip. He was so afraid he was dead... His eyelashes fluttered after a minute and he winced. Those gold eyes opened slowly and Nomiko swore they hadn't changed from the dogs to the man's. Why hadn't he realized it before? "Please..." he said softly his eyes sliding closed again. "Just call me Aura." Phase Three- End -Character Profile- Rose Tatsuya Birthday: August 8th Age: 17 Zodiac Sign: Leo Element: Fire Blood Type: AB Height: 5' 3" Hair color: Black Eye color: Gray Occupation: Student Favorite Subject: The English Language -- Author's Notes Part Two- There you have it; Despair Aura Volume One!-*cuddles Satoshi*- Yes, out of all my characters, Satoshi is my favorite. He's so loyal and upbeat, but he's very self-conscious at the same time. Poor guy thinks he's worthless. Still he tries to constantly make things right. His feelings for Nomiko are probably the sweetest thing about him- he'll do anything to make his master happy. Plus, he has really really cool hair. I like that it's cut short around his face and left long in the back. I tried to make him look foxish without giving him really bushy wavy hair (he is Japanese after all). I think I succeeded since he turned out really sexy. I should show you guys concept art I've drawn. ^^ Anyway, in volume two, a clash between Miko and Satoshi takes place and Nomiko ends up teaching?! Until I write again! Sora Tokumi Kazuma |
