His sight was a little hazy, but with Touya, the future promised to be so bright…

Touya, Yuki and Fujitaka: from Clamp's CCS. Yuki and Touya aren't a couple yet (as you'll plainly see by the way Touya speaks so endearingly of him). If you want to see how they become a couple, you'd have to read my upcoming story, Icarus' Flight. Ciao!

The Darkest Day

Part 1

Where are you, Yukito?

Touya eyed his watch for the nth time. 30 minutes late?! He shrugged. The poor bloke probably overslept. He told him that soccer's hard work. But Yukito still tried out for the team. Tomoeda High has one of the toughest trials in the prefecture, but the wafer-thin boy matched the more able-bodied wannabe's. He sprinted 6 times around the field, did everything as good or better than the regular players…except the tackle test. The first time he saw the dummy, Yukito refused to touch it.

'But…it's dirty!,' he cried.

Touya failed to stifle a laugh. That Yukito… he's a little weird sometimes. And mostly too innocent, like a little kid.

After waiting by the curb a few minutes more, Touya finally boarded his bike, then pedaled towards the old Japanese house where his friend lived.

The house was still, and Touya felt a hint of foreboding which affected him every time he neared an old house.

"Yukiii~to!" he called out loud. The house had no doorbell.

Oh, c'mon. I'm gonna be late! He was a short-tempered guy, and being stood up for half an hour, pedaling all the way here then waiting outside did not really appeal to him very much. He scratched his head, a habit that sometimes lessened his steam.

No Yukito. Maybe they missed each other? Damn! He'd die for a cell phone right now! Touya went back on his bike. If that guy's in school already, he's gonna kill him.

* * *

Sure enough, Touya had barely padlocked his bike when he caught sight of Yukito sitting on a bench. Yukito's head was bowed, and he rested his weight on the post beside the bench. Instantly, he felt the irritation boil in his gut again.

He marched towards Yukito, his diatribe already formed in his head.

"Yukito...!" he snarled.

Yukito looked up, surprised.

Touya bit his lips before he could say anything. His brows knotted as he took in the poor condition of the boy in front of him. His uniform was dirty, and his pants were torn on the knee. There were scratches on his palm and face, and he was holding his handkerchief to his right eye.

"My God!" Touya exclaimed. "What happened to you? Are you all right?"

He grabbed Yuki's shoulders. The smaller boy flinched, and Touya let go immediately.

"I'm sorry To-ya, I fell of my bike…" he exclaimed, bravely trying to smile.

Touya clicked his tongue at the gesture, his anger replaced by genuine concern. Even the classes, which he was so afraid of missing, became trivial.

"Have you gone to the clinic?" he asked.

Yukito slowly shook his head. "I was waiting for you, To-ya… I thought you'd be mad."

Hit him where it hurts again, bullseye! Touya berated himself for even thinking that his friend would willingly make him mad. Yukito was here, bruised and battered, and he was thinking about him! Touya felt a blush creep to his cheeks.

"I'm not mad, Yuki," he smiled back then offered to help him up. Yukito willingly took his hand but faltered as he tried to stand up.

"Yuki, daijobu?"

Yukito held the handkerchief to his right eye, like the eye was about to fall off. He whimpered a cry of pain.

Touya knelt in front of him, gently coaxing his hand away from his eye. He stifled a gasp as he got a good look at Yuki's face. His right eye was shut tight, a dark bruise around it, the size of his fist. It was a stark contrast against his alabaster skin. His first thought was, 'I'm gonna kill the bastards who did this!'.

"To-ya, it hurts…" he moaned. Touya's thoughts of revenge vanished instantly. He slipped his arm around Yuki as they walked to the clinic.

* * *

Touya helped Yuki get comfortable. That was hard, considering the condition he was in, but the smaller boy didn't even mutter a word of argument. When Touya offered his shoulders though, Yukito willingly rested his head.

"What happened to your eye, Yuki?"

It was a while before Yukito answered, there was a note of pain in his voice, "I don't know To-ya… I woke up this morning and I can't see…"

"What?!" Touya started, almost making Yukito fall. "You can't see?!" Touya faced his friend, and he looked worse now that he knew that. "You can't see?!"

"What's this, you can't see?" another chimed in. Touya turned to see a woman in a doctor's suit. "I presume you're my patient?" she asked as she looked at Yukito.

Yukito nodded his head.

"Are you his friend?"

"Yes," Touya nodded.

"Stay outside. Companions aren't allowed here."

Touya was about to disagree when Yukito touched his arm gently.

"Don't worry, To-ya. I'm gonna be all right," he assured him.

Touya sighed then walked towards the waiting room.