Here is Greenwood
"The Diary of Mitsuru Ikeda"
By Roo
Please send C&C to: Dragoness_fei@yahoo.com
Warnings: Sap. Lemon. Some kawaii alerts.
Takes place two years before Suka-chan enters the scene.

The Diary of Mitsuru Ikeda

~*~

Entry 1:

So, here is Greenwood. Ryokurin. A lonely old dorm surrounded by swaying trees and sunshine. It needs someone to spice it up---make it home. Plans already brew in the cauldron of my mind...hehehe.J

This is my first day of school. Mom and Dad helped me unpack and get settled in. My new roommate hasn't gotten here yet. I wonder what he'll be like.

I set up everything in neat rows and columns. Always gives me a sense of peace when my things sit strangely in order. Pens. Pencils. Textbooks. Warm woolen clothes for the coming winter. A picture of otouto. The room is deathly silent and lonely. I feel like I'm missing something. But I can't remember what...

A knock.

~*~

Mitsuru jumped off the top bunk of the bed and padded to the door, the bare heels of his feet slapping in steady rhythm upon the hardwood floor.

"Come in!"

The door opened, and the first thing he noticed had been a pair of sharp lavender-blue eyes that fixated on him in a decidedly unnerving way.

"Hello?" Mitsuru said, bowing his head slightly.

Silence cluttered up the space between the two boys and Mitsuru swallowed anxiously.

"I'm Ikeda Mitsuru. Mitsuru is fine. Are you my new roommate?"

The purple haired boy blinked, then quietly walked into the room, forgetting the door behind him. The strange young man continued to make his way to the bed, pausing slightly to utter, "Shinobu."

"Excuse me?"

"Tezuka Shinobu. My name."

"Oh. Shinobu. Yoroshiku!"

"Yoroshiku."

With nothing more to add, the solemn freshman began putting his clothing away, carefully avoiding the drawers Mitsuru had placed his own belongings in. Mitsuru stood there, dumbfounded, watching the boy with periwinkle eyes in wonder.

Shinobu made no sound as he unpacked. Not a single movement seemed anything less than graceful, disinterested and detached. Mitsuru stared, enraptured. Putting his possessions away did not take long, for the strange boy had only brought one bag, mostly consisting of books and clothing.

Once finished, Shinobu walked over to the beds and sat experimentally upon the bottom one. Looking very self-assured, he crossed his legs and looked straight at Mitsuru.

Crystal amethyst eyes cut sharply into his brain. "Um..." Mitsuru shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry; I should have offered to help."

"That was not necessary," Shinobu said, as if it had been obvious.

"Yeah, well, you're my new roommate, and I should have done something to welcome you."

Shinobu stared at him as if he had not heard the words. "Mitsuru?"

"Huh?"

"Do you want the top bunk?"

"Yes, please. I like being on top."

A hint of a smile graced pale white lips, and Shinobu nodded. "I figured. I guess we're lucky then."

"Oh?"

"I like being on bottom." The seductive tone in his voice had been unmistakable.

Mitsuru raised his eyebrows, mouth suddenly feeling very dry. "Do you?"

Shinobu nodded. He seemed to fall silent whenever words weren't necessary.

Poor Mitsuru raked his blonde bangs out of his eyes and smiled. "Lucky, indeed." He crawled onto the top bunk and opened his journal, the silence suddenly not so lonely or uneasy anymore.

~*~

Entry 1- continuation

Holy shit! My roommate just hit on me! Looked right at me and said he liked being on bottom. That is a gay reference, isn't it? Yes, yes I think it is...EEE! Ah, shit, what the hell am I supposed to do? He's so... odd. Guess that's pot calling the kettle black there, but... Still, he had nice eyes. I've never seen eyes like that. So...lavender. And cold. Frost- covered Forget-Me-Nots.

Well, better get ready for dinner. Maa...

~*~

Shinobu sat alone in the corner of the cafeteria, staring out the windows at the bright green lawn. Mitsuru thought he looked lonely, in a self-contained kind of way, so he decided to join him.

"Hey, Shinobu. Can I sit here?"

Shinobu looked up at him and dipped his chin almost imperceptibly. But Mitsuru never had been easily deterred. He simply cocked his head to the side and gave his best heart-arresting smile. He didn't know why, but the need to impress this boy, to get under his skin, overwhelmed him. Pride perhaps. Or maybe just to see if he could do it. But he wanted Shinobu's attention, of that, he felt sure.

Mitsuru cleared his throat. "Thanks. So, what're you looking at?"

"Limes."

"...Limes?"

"The grass is painted the color of limes and sunlight. I hate it."

Mitsuru blinked. Then he laughed outright. "Oh damn! I got stuck with a poet for a roommate."

"There, there," Shinobu murmured quietly, apparently not offended at being mocked. "Somehow, I know you'll survive."

Mitsuru gave another beaming smile and promptly stole one of Shinobu's fries. Popping it into his mouth, he wondered why nothing he did got any reaction out of him. It felt beyond infuriating. Mitsuru started to respect him.

"Good fries," Mitsuru said between bites.

"Dozo," Shinobu lifted the ketchup-saturated paper box and offered his roommate the rest of his lunch.

"We're going to be best friends," Mitsuru decided aloud.

"We are?"

"Of course." Mitsuru shrugged, smiling again, and then got up and took Shinobu's tray. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Shinobu asked, in his utterly apathetic, yet well-mannered way.

"We're gonna go play with limes."

Shinobu shook his head. "You're such a child."

"No," Mitsuru countered. "I'm worse."

And without another word, they walked out into the twilight.

~*~

Entry 4:

Maaaa! What a great day it would have been if not for trig. I hate math. Hate it! Worse, I get to sit next to Shinobu, and he knows all that answers, but he ever raises his hand! If I had even one right answer, I would shout it all over the room. But NOOoo! That baka has to sit on it, resting his hand on his chin, looking completely bored like he always does. I don't understand how he can be so smart and not want to show it. But I guess I like him for it, too. At least he won't raise the curve, ne? Still, it's not right. He needs more confidence. I feel like I've become the expert on him. He only talks with me, when we go for walks. Actually, he doesn't really talk; more like he listens to me babble. But on occasion, I can tell he's listening intently---I have him hooked. So, I consider myself an authority in the archeological dig for Shinobu's personality.

~*~

"What are you doing, Shinobu?"

"I'm aligning our sphere."

"Right. Right, our sphere. That makes perfect sense."

Shinobu did not huff. He did not let his shoulders slump. He did not give the slightest indication that Mitsuru just asked him an unspoken question. It drove the blonde boy to madness.

"Maaa! What are you doing, Shinobu!"

The taller boy stopped and peered over at Mitsuru, his eyes coming level with the top bunk. "I am going through this excuse of a dorm room, and reorganizing it according to the principles of Feng Shui."

"The principles of what?"

"Feng Shui! You're telling me they didn't teach you that at your shrine?"

"I wasn't a monk, Shinobu."

"No, not with your preferences I take it."

"What does that mean?"

"Move that over there and then help me hang the wind chimes."

"Why should I? This is your project. Just look at what you've done to my pencils! Why me?"

Shinobu stopped and turned a cool gaze on him. "Because you're closer to the ceiling, baka. You're the one who likes to be on top, ne?"

Mitsuru could feel the blush work its way up from his neck to his cheeks. "Um, yeah..." Without further ado, he took the chimes and attached the looped string to the hook on the window frame. Their pleasant music wafted in on the autumn breeze. "Nice."

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Mm?"

"You never say yeah. You never say more than one sentence a day, if you can help it. And now you're even responding with yeah?" Mitsuru let enthusiasm pour into his voice.

"You pick the weirdest things to get excited about, Mitsu."

Mitsu. He loved his nickname, but only Shinobu was allowed to use it. It gave Mitsuru the sense of intimacy he craved with the boy.

"Well, I guess you're a bad influence," Shinobu said, as he centered a red candle to the south.

"I hope so."

"Do you?" Shinobu straightened up and turned around, sticking his face a bare inch or two from Mitsuru's.

"Hmph!" A giant, fluffy pillow met with Shinobu's surprised expression, causing feathers to fly around the room.

"Hoooo? Sure that was wise, Mitsu?"

"Just what do you think you can do to me, Shin?"

Now, even with Shinobu, there were limits. And Mitsuru loved to test each and every one. With a delighted squeal, he reared back from the assault aimed at his head. Narrowly, he escaped Shinobu's flying pillow.

"You'll never take me alive!"

"What would I do with you dead, you silly thing!" Shinobu climbed the wooden ladder to Mitsuru's bed, raising his pillow over his head as he did so.

"Wauk!" Mitsuru scooted to the end of his headboard, desperate to escape the blows raining down upon him. He kicked out, and suddenly Shinobu dangled at the edge of the mattress, teetering dangerously to the floor. Without thinking, Mitsuru grabbed the boy's shirt and pulled him close, landing them both flat on the bed. Breathing heavily, they stared into each other's faces.

"Thank you," Shinobu whispered.

Mitsuru gave his trademark grin. "So serious," he said, teasing.

Suddenly Shinobu began to writhe, breath hitched in his throat. "Mit---Mit--"

"What? Can't the great stoic Shinobu stand being tickled?"

Without mercy, the blonde boy plundered every crevice of Shinobu's toned body, tickling where he could. Watching the lavender-haired boy gasp and contort like a fish on dry land gave him a heady rush of power. It left him totally unprepared for the counterattack.

"Oh!"

"Ha ha!" Grinning openly now, Shinobu pinned him to the bed, delving his fingers into the nooks of Mitsuru's underarms and the folds of his perfect abdomen.

"Shi---Shi...stop!"

And as suddenly as it began, the tickling stopped, leaving Mitsuru blushing and breathless. They lay so closely together now, breathing gently onto each other's faces. It felt warm and safe. Familiar, though it had never happened to Mitsuru before. He smiled.

Surprise tingled up from its secret lair in his belly, as he watched his roommate lift a hand to brush back his cornsilk bangs.

"You are really very handsome, when you smile, Mitsu-chan."

Warmth was a quality that no one could ever claim to have heard in Shinobu's voice. Except perhaps Mitsuru, just now. "So ka?"

Shinobu nodded. "So."

Mitsuru held his breath, waiting. Would Shinobu kiss him now? What would it feel like? Why did he wonder so?

"Well, I think I'll start cleaning up this mess."

"Hm?"

"This mess. I think I'll start cleaning it up." Shinobu nodded, indicating the white goose feathers littering the floor.

"What makes you think I'll let you get away?" Mitsuru challenged, loving the dangerous line he walked. Flirting was still flirting, after all.

A plum eyebrow raised in amusement. "Am I your prisoner, then?"

"Oh yes. My captive."

"Mitsu?"

"Yes?"

"What makes you think you're not the captive?"

Mitsuru paused. "Well, I we're in my bed."

"Mhm."

"And I started it."

"Mhm."

"And I'm not going to let you go!" Mitsuru resumed his tickling, but froze when Shinobu's hand slipped silently over his own.

"Mitsu..." The husky voice drifted on the chimed breeze. "I bet I can escape..."

"How?"

Soft. Warm lips, hovering just an inch above his own. Heart-arresting in their unabashed proximity. Curved like Cupid's bow. Poised for deadly assault. Utterly mesmerizing and totally sinful in their perfection. So close.

"Like this..." Shinobu shifted closer, and Mitsuru felt his heart batter inside his chest. His stomach tightened as the boy's lips whispered above his own, and then... were gone.

Shinobu slipped off the bed, and walked across the room to pick up the broom in the closet. He calmly began sweeping the room, all indication of prior events seemingly forgotten.

Mitsuru responded with a swift and well-aimed pillow to the back of a very handsome purple head. A head which did not turn, so that Mitsuru could never see the smile that hid there.

~*~

Entry 7:

Grooooan! Oh Gods! What's happening to me? I think living in a boy's boarding school is beginning to affect me. Today I almost kissed Shinobu. I must be crazy! I need to get out, find a girl, go on a date. Shit. I almost wanted it!

Well, I've got to get a grip on myself. That's all. Nothing to it. He's cold to me, so I'll be cold back. I'll just fill up my time with activities and stop taking walks with him and before you know I won't notice him at all. Right? Right. Now, what to choose...

~*~

"I'm running for dorm president."

Shinobu said nothing, as usual.

"Did you hear me?"

"I heard you."

"Well?"

Turning in his desk chair, sharp blue-gray eyes searched out soft magenta ones. "Well, good luck. You'll need it."

"Why?"

"Well, for one thing, I'm running, too."

"What!" Mitsuru fumed for a moment. "You're only running because I said I was."

Shinobu shrugged. "If you like."

"Argh!"

"Of course, you'll never beat me." Shinobu shifted back to face his books. "Not with your grades..."

"I..."

It was true. In all subjects Mitsuru excelled, except math. He was failing, and failures weren't allowed to run for class president, dorm president or student council. Frowning, he walked over to his desk and plopped down in front of his trigonometry text. Cracking the spine for the third time that semester, he began to study.

~*~

Several hours later, Mitsuru had gotten as far as the third page. He became lost in memories so easily. He had not been aware that he stared out into space, a million miles away from his formulas and proofs.

"Mitsu. You're day-dreaming."

"Huh?" He stiffened dramatically when he discovered his roommate looming right over him, serious face resting right next to his own. "What is it, Shinobu?"

"I was wondering if you could use some help?"

"Help?"

"With math."

Mitsuru sniffed, his pride wounded. "Why would you help your competition?"

Shinobu gave a slow, seductive smile. "Makes the game more fun. And the winning even sweeter. Do you want me to help you, Mitsu?"

Mitsu started to regale some of his fuck-off lines he learned years ago when he had been a gang leader, but realized the severity of his situation, and wisely bit his lip. "Yeah," he mumbled.

Without another word, Shinobu pulled up his chair and brought over his textbook. "All right. For starters, we're on page forty-two, not three. Shall we start?"

"Mm."

~*~

"Oh, I see!"

"Yes, like that. Just like that."

"But what's the rule?"

"Since when did you care for rules, Mitsu?"

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Shin."

"It's at the bottom of the page, next to the asterix. You can use that whenever you're stumped, you know."

"Oh. I guess if I ever read the book, I would know that."

"You're hopeless. I'm taking you on as my pet project. By Gods, you're going to pass this class."

"Sure you're up to the task of taking me on, Shin?" Mitsuru grinned, though inwardly he felt amazed at his behavior. Something about Shinobu always herded him just over his border of self-awareness.

The quiet boy leveled a stare at him, making him forget to breathe. "Yes. I'm sure I'm up for it." Determined, Shinobu stood and leaned over Mitsuru, turning the pages of the textbook with long, lithe fingers. "Here. Do these problems before bed. Bring them to me before class tomorrow."

"What are these?"

"They're our homework assignment, baka."

"Oh. Hey, Shin?"

"Mm?"

"Thanks."

Silence again. But a pleasant silence. A silence that said 'you're welcome, and you know you are.' Mitsuru began to understand Shinobu's secret language; he translated it as slowly as he grasped the equations in front of his eyes. For everything has a formula to be unraveled, in it's own time. Grandfather had said that, hadn't he?

[cont] [back to fan fiction]