Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Defy and Comply ❯ Lesson 11: I've Been Alone All Along ( Chapter 11 )

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Defy and Comply

Lesson 11: I've Been Alone All Along

By: Revamp

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There was a knock on the yakuza's door. When he opened it up, Lamar was standing there with his guitar packed in it's case in one hand, a large, black and red scythe strapped over his shoulder, and a gym bag and guitar in the other hand. The green-haired man smiled brightly and winked at him. Holding up his hand, Lamar attempted a small wave.

"Hey man, it's been a while," Lamar was happy to see him again. He couldn't remember the last time the two had even seen each other and he was happy to see that his old friend was in good health.

Taiga frowned at the older male. What in the great blue hell did he think he was doing, walking through the halls with a damned scythe strapped to his back? Students had been dying. Doing a thing like that was going to make him look like a killer. "Get your punk ass in here before you get caught."

Lamar walked inside as the door was shut behind him. He sat his guitar on Taiga's bed and his bags on the floor, thanking him for letting him live in his dorm for the remainder of the time before graduation. It was the one way that he knew he could stake out the school and attend the upcoming event.

"No one else would smuggle your ass in here. I roomed by myself for a reason." It was their plan. He and Taiga had discussed things before he went into his senior year in Shinjinku Academy. So far, things were running smoothly. Well, as smoothly as they possibly could, considering the minor afflictions the plan was suffering due to the rumors.

Lamar turned and looked at his friend. He couldn't contain his smile enough. Taiga was a special person to him, "it's been a while."

"You're tellin' me. Get your ass over here," Lamar walked up the yakuza, who gazed upon him with a softened expression, "I missed you, Lamar...if that's what you call yourself now."

Lamar nodded, "for now, yes." The two them embraced in a strong hug. They stayed like that for a moment, content with feeling the warmth of another. Lamar had an arm around the yakuza's waist and his other hand was rested on the back of his head, fingers running through thin, blond locks, feeling their silky texture. Their foreheads touched and the two closed their eyes, their cheeks tinted a slight pink for the short distance. "You look so much like Raiga," back during the first graduation, Taiga had looked much younger but now that he had matured the resemblance to his older brother was striking.

"You look different yourself. All I've known for a year is your voice," it was a long time not to see anyone. The two had a lot of catching up to do. However, Taiga couldn't say he liked what he'd seen as Lamar looked sort of sickly and pale. The older male had always been pale, but it was more noticeable now. He masked his natural hair color with dye and his striking eyes were concealed behind evergreen contacts. Taiga liked the old him better.

"I would have let you visit but I didn't want to blow my cover." Surely the yakuza would understand his point of view on things.

"You wouldn't tell me your address, fucker," Taiga closed his eyes and ground his teeth together, his words sliding out in gruff irritation.

"Hey, I'm here now. You can do whatever ya want with me now," Lamar gave the younger man a playful wink. If Taiga wanted to, they would really celebrate their reunion and catch up on all of the times they were unable to touch each other.

Taiga's frown deepened as his face turned a light shade of red. "Hey man, this isn't that kind of reunion. Besides, that's now how I treat people I care about." What kind of man did Lamar think he was, anyway? He should know him better than that.

"It's a little too late to be thinking about a date," Lamar shot him a playful smile, playing on his words just to frustrate him.

"D-Date? Man, don't fuck with me," that joke was hardly funny.

A bond hand cupped his chin, drawing the yakuza in close to him. Taiga was pissed at himself for blushing this much. In retaliation, he put his hand on Lamar's shoulders, being careful of the spikes that jutted out from his leather jacket. "I might like to," the green-haired man's voice lowered an octave and took on a sultry tone.

"Hey, I said..." Taiga trailed off. He felt far more flustered than he should have. The fact that their bodies were pressed together made him twice as uncomfortable. The heat coming from the contact made him wish he was far away from this guy. This was his brother's best friend, and the man who had saved his life during the last graduation. He was Taiga's hero.

Lamar grinned widely, "I'm kidding! Stop makin' that face because you're lookin' way too convinced."

So, it was just some sort of game? How infuriating! Taiga yanked his face away and whirled around, trying to quell his furious blushing with an annoyed look on his face. "Sorry," his apology was more angry and disgruntled than anything. If there was one thing that Taiga sucked at, it was dealing with people who liked him, or people that he liked. The yakuza was never good with relationships and often scared people away because he was so socially awkward.

Putting distance between the two, Lamar walked over and sat on his bed, the cushion of the mattress felt cold and soft below him. Now was the time to get down to business. They could talk about reminiscing old times later. "So, what have you learned?"

Taiga turned around to face him. He hadn't completely gotten over his blushing fit. The bush hadn't faded but lightly dusted his cheeks. It was juxtaposed to his serious expression. "We have a lead, the student council president, Inori Mandio. He knows something and his father founded Shinjinku Academy. He's been really suspicious lately. He tries to cover anything I bring up as an argument. Another student ended up dead, and it wasn't a suicide this time." That was all that he could think of at the moment. Taiga had informed his friend about everything prior to Mishio's death. Things had picked up and became considerably serious since then. Now it was time to take their ultimate step; questioning Inori on what exactly he knew regarding the rumors.

Lamar could hardly believe it. Sunoma hadn't kept him informed on anything past Mishio's death, so all of this was new to him. "You're kidding me?"

Taiga's blush was now faded and his face hardened into a dire gaze, "they were killed."

The words hit him in the face like a brick wall. "Do ya think this Inori guy killed 'em?"

"Dunno, but we should definitely question him," Taiga wasn't about to let Inori get away with anything, especially now that murders were taking place.

Lamar nodded, "definitely."

"Are you sure this plan'll work?" The yakuza couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. Whoever orchestrated the graduation was no doubt, watching their every move. It was more than likely that they knew about the plans they had been making as well, or at least they knew about Taiga's side of everything.

"I'm in aren't I? All I have to do is stay on campus until the dome closes," Lamar couldn't lose if he stayed where he was. Time was drawing closer and closer, and he was sure that the mastermind wouldn't care if he had one more victim participating in his sick little game.

"The dome..." It ran from the yakuza's lips like pure macabre, however, it also sounded oddly thoughtful.

"Ya think of something?" Lamar glanced at his friend in question.

Just then, Taiga's face lit up as if a realization struck him. "That's it! If Inori's father founded Shinjinku Academy, then he would know the location for the switch that activates the dome! If we can keep the dome from dropping, then no one will be trapped here. We gotta talk to him. He's our main key to freeing the student body." The faster they knew the more people they could save by stopping it before it birthed a bigger problem. Taiga was determined, now more than ever to find Inori and make him spill the truth.

Lamar stood up with his fists clenched and determination written on his face. He felt his adrenaline course through his body at the prospect of putting an end to graduation before it began. "Let's do this!"

However, when the two of them arrived in the student council room, they couldn't prepare themselves for the ghastly sight that awaited them. Inori was inside, seated in his chair. His head was leaned backwards exposing his slashed throat. The laceration was large, extending from ear to ear. Whoever had done this wanted to make sure that he was dead. Limp arms hung to his sides and glazed over eyes glanced skyward. On the table before him was a half eaten doughnut from the pastry shop and half of a glass of grape juice. Anger marred Taiga's visage and Lamar stood there, shocked by what he saw.

"He's dead..." Taiga broke the silence, clenching his fist beside of his face. His voice permeated with anger. "He was our only lead. Fuck this earth!"

"Who could have done this?" Lamar looked to Taiga; his emotions were a mixture of shock and sorrow. He felt bad for anyone who was killed in such an agonizing way. "Do you think the person who killed the other student killed Inori?"

"Someone's trying to make us kill each other early. This is their way of doing it," Taiga was sure of it now. Whoever it was wanted to instill paranoia into the student body and make them skeptical of each other.

Lamar frowned and stuck his hands into his pockets. "It's time we went into action. No more hidin' behind a veil."

If they continued, more students would end up dead. This was the end of innocence, the breaking of their youth that would plunge them into adulthood and playing detective and soldier.

Slapping his fist in his hand, the yakuza's steely gaze shifted to the dead body before them. "Let's kick ass and take names. That dome could come down at any time. It's only a matter of hours."

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The garden was beautiful and full of flowers this time of year. Happy insects buzzed and fluttered among the beautifully landscaped gardens. White trellises and picket fences provided decor so that the vines could climb. When students walked into the botany gardens, they felt as if they were submerged into a fantasy of nature and romanticism and many ventured there when they wanted a spot to relax or do their homework. It was also a known spot where couples liked to go and make out, or share romantic moments together.

Tsukimi stood beside of one of the four iron-cast, white-painted pieces of furniture that were placed in grassy patches. The sweet smell of the air filled her senses as a slight breeze caused the flowers around her to wave in metronomes. A shadow was cast over the girl and she turned around to see her boyfriend, Zoen, standing before her with a serious expression on his face.

Suddenly, the peace and romanticism of the situation vanished. Pushing black, red and yellow strands from her face, the girl looked to her boyfriend with red and yellow eyes. "Did you have something to tell me?"

The words came out simply, as if it were a mundane conversation, "I'm breaking up with you."

Pain, shock and anxiety riddled the girl's form. Her eyes widened. Surely, he was joking. He couldn't have meant what he just said. Zoen was just trying to joke around, right? "What? But why? What did I do wrong?" As far as she knew they hadn't gotten into any disagreements. She never cheated on him and she was always faithful. Their relationship was perfect, so why would he want to break up with her? She didn't understand.

"I don't have time for a relationship anymore, so I'm letting you go," Zoen's voice was like ice raining down on her. She had never heard his tone this cold and rehearsed sounding in her life. Given all that she had went through, he would just leave her with no remorse, not even an afterthought. It was cruel.

Tears brimmed her eyes and she glanced up at the muscled man. "How could you do that? You're the only person I even have. Can't we still be friends?" Tsukimi wanted to save the relationship as much as she could. They didn't have to love each other, but she didn't want to lose him completely.

Zoen turned, glancing over his shoulder as he turned his back to the small girl. His voice was low, as if to have some sort of regret to it. In reality, he hated this moment, but at the same time, it was something that he had to do. There was no way that he could keep his relationship up with Tsukimi and deep down; he hoped that she would understand one day. "Sorry, I don't desire friends. To be truthful, I even disbanded the Crazy Snake Gang. It's time to let go of all of my ties."

Something was wrong. Zoen loved his gang; they were his pride and joy. It was like his brotherhood. Tsukimi couldn't understand any of this. Her words were stolen from her in that moment, and all she could do was stare blankly ahead, looking as if someone had shot her in the heart.

"Your friends with Yuunatsu, you'll deal," Zoen brought up the fact that she had another male friend, Yuunatsu, who worked under Taiga in the ranks of the yakuza.

"What did I do that was so bad that you don't even want to be friends?" Tsukimi's voice was small and shaky as tears clung to the corners of her eyes.

Her now ex-boyfriend's voice sharpened, "I told you, it's over and things have changed. Accept it."

"This isn't the Zoen I know," it was like he was a whole different person, like he mystically morphed into someone else over night and she hated it. Tears flowed down her cheeks as her gaze hit the ground.

"Then you never knew me at all," Zoen's final words reached her ears as he walked away leaving her weeping in the flower garden.

"This is so unfair! I just lost my best friend and now I'm losing my boyfriend, too?" Tsukimi had never felt so alone in her life. Tears flowed freely as she sobbed in the garden for a while. She couldn't help but feel so much emotional pain from the events she had gone through lately. It was as if the whole world hated her, and losing all of her close ties only served to further wound her.

Pulling herself off of the ground, the girl began to seek out the only other friend she had- Yuunatsu. Tsukimi walked around the campus before finding the yakuza standing beside of the stairs. He was dressed in a pin-striped suit, with a black tie and a dark pink undershirt. He was of a slim build. Yuunatsu was a sharp-dressed boy with light blue eyes, a sly expression and slicked back platinum blonde hair. He turned, seeing the sobbing girl and his face was etched with concern.

"What's wrong?" He questioned as he walked up to her.

"Zoen broke up with me," Tsukimi sobbed as her mascara created long, dark streaks down her cheeks.

"It's better not to waste your time with him," Yuunatsu didn't seem like he cared much about her relationship change.

"What?" Tsukimi felt another shot to her heart. The one person she had left didn't even care that she was hurt. It was too much for her to bear.

"You shouldn't be wasting your time screwing around." Unlike Tsukimi, Yuunatsu had a mission to complete. He was in Shinjinku for a very specific reason. It wasn't because he was top grade or talented, it was because he was there to help his boss try and stop the graduation that was about to befall them.

Tsukimi shook her head and held her hands to her chest. "That isn't what I wanted to hear."

"You need to know. Lately, you've been unintentionally annoying." All she had done to him was talk about how great Zoen was and how good of a relationship that they had. It was sickening to him. To be frank, Yuunatsu was happy they had broken up. Maybe it would be better not hearing about her relationship so much. It was either that or sobbing about Mishio's death. It was sad that she lost her friend, but droning on it wasn't going to help her in the slightest way.

Tsukimi glanced up to him with tear-stricken eyes. Never in her life had she looked so lost and helpless as she did in that moment. It was as if she were truly alone in the world. "I went to you because my friend died. If you didn't care then you shouldn't have acted like it. Why couldn't you have just told me the truth?"

Yuunatsu turned away, "I don't know."

Just then, a feeling of anger shot through her body and she snapped at him. "Yes, you do. Were you worried about hurting my feelings? Did you feel like you needed to lie? What? Tell me." She wanted an answer. It wasn't right that he suddenly treated her like crap.

"I said I don't know," his voice was low but strong. He was holding his ground.

"So...my sorrow is annoying? Please tell me how I'm annoying. I want to talk this out." Even if Zoen denied her, maybe Yuunatsu would hear her out. Maybe he would find it in himself to at least talk to her about it and sort their friendship out. Tsukimi wanted to believe that it was worth keeping.

Yuunatsu only reacted by walking away with his hands in his pockets. The tails of his pin-striped jacket flowed behind him as he disappeared around the corner of the school. "Our failing friendship isn't even worth an answer? You know what? I tried ,Yuunatsu! I didn't give up on you, no. You gave up on me. I was your friend when you had no friends!" Shouting in pain, Tsukimi whirled around and dashed up the stairs. Her heels carried her as fast as she could go as she burst through the doors and dashed down the halls. Tears streamed down her face as pain and sorrow fueled her. The girl's eyes became so watery that the tears blinded her and she couldn't see where she was going.

Then, she slammed into something that felt like a brick wall. The girl stumbled backwards awkwardly, trying to keep her footing with her high heels. Wiping her eyes with one hand, and holding her afflicted chest with the other, her vision came into focus on Lamar, who held his chest a short distance away. "I'm really sorry!"

"It's Tsukimi. Hey, I've seen you talk to Yuunatsu a lot," Taiga sort of knew who she was. Tsukimi was one of those people that it was easy to recognize just by her looks. That streaked hair and different colored contacts were easily distinguishable by the student body.

"Not anymore," Tsukimi's head went down with those words.

"What happened?" This was a shock to Taiga. Those two were like best friends before now. He had always seen them together.

"Apparently, we aren't even friends anymore," she then raised her head and wiped some of her tears away before blinking a little as her sights were drawn to Lamar. She had never seen that guy at Shinjinku before. "Who is that green-haired guy?"

"I'm Lamar Oosawa, nice to meet ya!" Lamar jerked a finger towards his chest and flashed a brilliant smile, winking at the girl.

"He's my childhood friend," Taiga put a little more clarification on who exactly Lamar was.

Suddenly, Tsukimi felt embarrassed. Here she was, staring at this good-looking guy with streaks of mascara down her face, puffy-eyes and sobbing, "I'm so sorry that your first impression of me is my face looking ugly."

"You don't look ugly, you look upset," Lamar didn't see her tears as something ugly. In fact, he thought Tsukimi, on a normal day, was very pretty and unique-looking. Then again, he was used to girl with looks like hers, girls who had a punk rock motif about them.

"You would be too if you lost your best friend, boyfriend and confidant all in the span of two days," Tsukimi kept attempting to wipe the tears from her eyes to make herself more presentable as Taiga's face lit up with shock.

"What? He broke up with you?" This was the first he'd heard about it. From what he knew, they were close, sort of like the high school sweethearts people would think would get married and have kids after they graduated. What the hell happened?

Tsukimi nodded, "yes, and I don't know why. He's been acting strange ever since Mishio died but I didn't think he'd break up with me. I just..." Her body trembled and she could feel her eyes burning. She tried to will back the tears. She wanted desperately not to cry and she was afraid that if she kept on talking about it that the tears would burst forth. After a few moments of standing there as the two boys waited for her to finish her sentence, tears ran down her cheeks and the girl burst into a fit of tears. She covered her face with her hands and wept loudly.

The yakuza began to panic. The last thing he knew how to deal with were women, let alone women who were emotional and crying. This instantly threw him into a shouting fit. "Calm down! You're freakin' out over stuff that can be fixed. Don't fucking cry!"

"You're being awkward," Lamar cast him that knowledgeable gaze. Taiga was freaking out more than Tsukimi was.

"I'm bad at this!" Taiga responded by yelling again, making the situation more awkward. He couldn't help it. He really was horrible when it came to social interactions that were intimate, whether it was with men or women.

"Why don't you come back to our dorm with us, Tsukimi?" Lamar asked, as he placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

Shaking with anxiety and the force of crying so hard, Tsukimi glanced up at him with glossy eyes, brimmed with tears. "Are you sure?"

"I don't trust you to be alone. I want you to stay with us until you feel better." The last thing Lamar needed was an emotional girl who would get weird ideas into her head after being abandon by people. He would rather show her compassion and kindness, the two things that she needed to regain her stability. There weren't any laws that said boys and girls had to stay in their dorms and couldn't spend the night with each other.

"I'm gonna punch Yuunatsu in the dick for this," Taiga grumbled the words through gritted teeth as the three walked back to their dorm room. He was in the middle of an investigation and now his research would have to be put off until this girl stopped crying. This was all Yuunatsu's fault.

"Will we have to watch what we say around her?" Lamar inched up to Taiga and spoke lowly in his ear to where only he could hear.

"No," Taiga replied lowly as Tsukimi walked a couple of steps ahead, then turned around and looked at them in perplexion.

"Watch what you say?" She put a finger to her lips. They couldn't keep much from her, as she had keen hearing. Tsukimi could tell that the two were talking about something secretive, and that usually only meant one thing. She shifted her eyes to the two. "Wait...are you two dating? I can totally keep it quiet."

Lamar's cheeks tinted with blush as he stared, wide-eyed at the girl. Did she really think that about the two of them? Were they obviously in someone else's eyes or something? Tsukimi just assumed that he was gay all on her own without even knowing him.

"Stop implying that!" Taiga became frustrated again, yelling the phrase out as blush seeped into the skin of his cheeks.

"We're just friends," Lamar was quick to cover, to avoid another awkward yelling session from the yakuza.

Tsukimi placed her hands behind her back and closed her eyes. She almost seemed disappointed by that news. "Aw, you should consider it. You two look cute together."

"Stop it! I feel hella uncomfortable, and it's rude to assume my sexuality!" Taiga barked at the two of them. Why in the world would he listen to someone like her, anyway? Not to mention this guy was his brother's best friend. Between that and personal feelings, Taiga was bothered by this subject on many levels.

"Gender was never my issue," Lamar wasn't making things any easier. He might have been open with his sexuality, but Taiga was not.

"St-Stop it! You're not helping, you fucker!" The yakuza stammered, his face turned red completely as his green-haired friend gave him a playful wink, only to receive the yakuza's next threat. "I'm gonna punch you in the dick next!"

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry," Lamar held up his hands, pivoting them from side-to-side, looking nervous while trying to retain his big, toothy grin. He knew Taiga meant it and he didn't really want to challenge that sentence with his manhood at stake.

Tsukimi held her hand up to her lips, giggling at the two. They were so awkward it was both hilarious and cute to her.

"Hey, I cheered her up," Lamar said happily. That was one good thing he had done right, and in moments like this he was happy for the solace he could find in the rare happy moments of his life.

"Fuck you," Taiga grumbled with his eyes closed.

"In bed tonight," once again a wink was delivered the yakuza's way.

"I'll cut your dick off with a cleaver."

"Harsh, dude," Lamar winced just thinking about anything of the sort coming close to that sensitive organ. Gay or straight, he still needed it for other purposes. He would rather not have it threatened with sharp instruments of torture.

Taiga's cheeks were still glowing, "stop your gay shit."

"Come on man, I love you," his friend continued to tease, pinching his cheek playfully.

Taiga glared daggers at the other male and cracked his knuckles. His voice was menacing as he glared at the older male. "Did you miss the part where I said your dick chopped off with a meat cleaver?"

Lamar's smile widened, and his voice dropped back into that seductive tone. "Worth it. I'll let you see all my piercings if I can see your tattoos."

"I heard that yakuza have tattoos on their-" Tsukimi blurted out, but her mouth was quickly covered by Taiga's hand, resulting in a series of muffled noises and protests as she flailed around.

"I'm gonna kill both of you," Taiga growled as he continued to hold the struggling girl down with ease.

Lamar laughed a little. The face that his friend made as the girl said that sentence was hilarious. He looked like he had been struck by lightning or something. "I'm sorry, your face was priceless."

"Ugh..." Taiga groaned.

The green-haired man then turned to the yakuza with a quizzical expression. Since the subject of sexuality was brought up, he really was curious to know. Taiga had never told him his sexuality before. Was it that much of a secret. "What is your sexuality?"

"I don't know," the yakuza muttered in embarrassment. He had better things to do than to think about whom or what he liked in a romantic sense, especially because he was so bad at anything romantic to begin with.

After being released from the hold, Tsukimi put a finger to her lips in thought, "I think I'm straight."

"If you have to question it, you've thought about it before," Taiga grumbled. Usually, people knew what they liked who had positive answers. 'I think' was not a positive answer.

"I only ever dated Zoen..." Tsukimi's voice cracked as she felt that familiar stinging in her eyes. Then her mind raced back to earlier in the garden and she felt herself crying all over again.

Aqua eyes trailed to the shorter male beside of him. "You jerk." If it wasn't for Lamar's subject matter, Tsukimi wouldn't be crying again. He just had to be curious about that subject.

"Sorry, Tsukimi," Lamar apologized, looking a little ashamed of himself for doing that.

"I'm just really screwed up right now..." The girl trailed off. Her head was searing with pain and she felt stopped up and gross. Her face was sticky with tears and mascara and she felt hot all over. Tsukimi hiccupped and sobbed a little, attempting to wipe her eyes against with her forearm.

"Will you be alright?" Taiga was a little concerned. He could see how much this type of thing really affected her, and he knew the pain of losing someone close to him. The loss of his brother was hard enough to live with, even if the event had been a year old. He could only imagine how badly this girl felt after losing her friend a day ago.

"I don't know. My chest hurts and I'm really hot," Tsukimi said as the three of them went into Taiga's room. She could feel the anxiety building up inside of her and her breath became constricted, which caused her to choke and cry even more than she had before. Laying down flat on her back on the bed, she gave the two males a sympathetic look. "Sorry, I'm taking one of your beds."

"We can share a bed." It was only until after he said it did Taiga realize the implications he had made.

Lamar clearly didn't waste the opportunity to jump on saying something regarding it. "Is that a proposition?"

The blonde sighed in exasperation. "Can't you be serious about this?"

Now was not the time.

"Fine," Lamar decided to lay off as Taiga walked over to the corner of the bed and pulled up a chair, stoking the girl's hair lightly. He wanted to comfort her, and this was really the only way that he could think of how to do it. The leather-clad man walked over to the girl and looked down at her with a reassuring visage, "I really am sorry, Tsukimi."

Tsukimi closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. "I know you, Lamar. You're...really funny and I'm glad you're here." His humor took the edge off of the serious tone that had been going on around the school. Lamar was strangely enigmatic and she liked that quality about him.

"I wished I could do something to help you," too bad his jokes didn't seem to work.

She frowned and her voice took on a grave tone, "nothing can help me now." Utter hopelessness was laced in her octave. Tsukimi, in truth, didn't want to be helped either. She just wanted to cry, and she felt worthless, even with the two at her side.

XxXxXxXx

It was strange to her, walking around campus and seeing Kiyomaru laughing among a group of students. Certain things about his sudden mood change didn't really make sense. He had broken down so many times before and she was certain that her friend would have transferred out if he had the choice, but now, there he was, surrounded by the student body laughing as boisterously as he always had. 'Strange, he's been very happy lately. Ever since he's visited Lamar, he seems to have snapped out of his fit of sorrow and paranoia. I wonder...' Her thoughts drifted off as she walked over to the laughing boy and placed a hand lightly on his shoulder.

Kiyomaru turned around with a smile on his face. "Hello, Sunoma!"

"Hello, Kiyomaru. You seem happy lately," Sunoma went straight to the point. She wanted to see what kind of answer he was going to give for his sudden mood change.

Smiling brilliantly, he put his hands on his hips, "I do feel a little better. You don't need to worry about me." Kiyomaru wanted to reassure his friend that she had nothing to worry about. Spending that special moment with Lamar had cured him of his paranoia and sorrow, at least for the moment.

Sunoma crossed her arms at her stomach and arched an eyebrow. "It was just rather sudden. I was wondering if there was a reason in particular that caused your sudden mood change." What exactly happened at Lamar's house? What could he have possibly done or said that made Kiyomaru happy again? She was curious, because she had done everything in her power and he was still in a horrible state of shamble.

"I just went to Lamar's house and we talked for a while. We came to terms on some things and he helped chide my worries." There was no way that he was going to tell this girl about how the two of them had sex, kissed and showered together. Even thinking about it made him feel fuzzy inside, like a swarm of butterflies were released in his stomach. Bony hands ran over his muscles, tracing every bend and curve. Pierced lips kissed his, and the feeling of rings, balls and facial hair resonated in his senses. Shockingly, those things were good memories. They made him happy.

Sunoma wasn't completely convinced, but she wasn't going to pry further than she already had. It felt awkward questioning him about time he spent bonding with another male. "I'm glad that you feel better."

"I think he's a pretty good guy, and I have come to realize that he has gone through so much. In many ways, I know how he feels now that I have gone through a part of the horror; I feel I can relate to him on a small scale." It was a bigger scale than he was willing to admit, but Kiyomaru wasn't about to divulge that information. It would be a secret among men.

"During the week I spent with Lamar, I've learned quite a bit about him. I feel bad for misjudging him," Sunoma felt that prang of guilt radiate through her body like a knife stab. She was so quick to call him such horrible things, even after he had saved her life. The lolita then turned around and made out with the leader of the most notorious yakuza gang in all of Japan without a second thought. In retrospect, Taiga would have been considered worse on that scale. Thinking about what she had done made her feel ill inside.

"I never inquired, but how did you meet Lamar?" It had always been in the back of his mind but Kiyomaru had never asked. He got caught up in all of the rumors and deaths that he had lost sight of that one question.

"He saved my life. I was almost hit by a car and he tackled me out of the way. All I did was treat him like garbage because I thought he was a drug dealer," Sunoma's face was pointed down and her eyes were averted. She could have never made more of a bad judgment call than the one she had made with him.

Kiyomaru looked a little concerned himself and held a fist under his chin in thought. "I have heard that he does drugs to kill the pain that he feels from being so traumatized. I am not saying that it is right to do such a thing. In most cases, I would not condone such activities, but in his case I do not blame him. My heart aches for him." Clutching his chest, all of those words that Lamar had uttered before flooded into his mind. The words in that dingy diary that he was allowed to read from, and those words that he spoke in their moments of passion, it was a rare moment that the windows to Lamar's soul were open and Kiyomaru could see all of his pain. He wondered how someone could have still been alive from carrying such a burden.

"You certainly are close now," Lamar must have told him things far beyond the scope of what they talked about. In a way, Sunoma felt a little jealous but she had no one but herself to blame. It was her fault that she and Lamar didn't share that much. She was the one who made things hard on their relationship and she accepted the blunt force of that blow.

"I have seen the light," Kiyomaru smiled, happy to have shared those painful moments of Lamar's past with him. It meant that Lamar trusted him with deep and insightful aspects of his life. More than anything, he had the green-haired man's trust and it gave him a sense of happiness and empowerment.

"Is that why you skipped school?" That was something she was curious about as well.

"I didn't know who else to turn to and I knew that he could help me. I feel as if I was going crazy for a while." It was really as simple as that. Kiyomaru knew that Lamar had been through a lot, so he decided to confide in him and got more than he had bargained for. It was a good experience, although it was a little painful afterward but he didn't regret it at all.

Sunoma smiled a little. "It's nice that your bonding is going to good use."

"Yes, of course," Kiyomaru was trying to keep his composure as his mind was assaulted with vivid images of that day. The two of them, entangled in a passionate kiss, laying down nude in bed together and bathing each other in the shower. A bead of sweat ran down the back of his head. "We certainly did have a long session of male bonding. I believe I lost track of time."

"It must have been deep between you two."

Why did she had to word it like that?

"It certainly was," he was pretty sure that he was visibly sweating now. If he wasn't then he more than likely looked as if he were trying too hard to keep composure.

Moving her hands to her hips, Sunoma was catching onto the fact that he was hiding something. "So, what is he? Your new best friend?"

"A friend, yes. I am unsure of how close he feels to me but I definitely feel gravitated towards him. I still consider you to be the closest person to me, so no worries if you feel threatened," Kiyomaru waved her question off and laughed a little in response. He didn't want her to feel threatened by Lamar, just because he was able to cheer him up didn't mean that he meant more to him than Sunoma. Come to think of it, Kiyomaru was really unsure about what he felt about Lamar.

"I'm not worried." Why would he think that she did? Was there something she should have worried about? How odd.

XxXxXxXxXx

"Everything sucks! I lost everything! I don't understand why this happens to me! I didn't do anything wrong!" Tsukimi shouted, trying to get all of her pain and anger out, and then her voice lowered into one of sorrow. "I mean...If I did, I'd understand, but I can't think of anything."

Clenching the covers in her hands, Tsukimi held them as tightly as she could. Her knuckles turned white as tears continued to roll down her cheeks, creating wet spots on the pillow below her.

"I wished I could comfort you but, I really don't know how," Taiga knew he wasn't much help. He really was bad at comforting people. The only thing the yakuza found himself doing was stroking her hair absent-mindedly. It was a futile attempt, but it was better than doing nothing.

"I would say its okay, but it's not," she continued to sob hysterically. Everything had bore down on her, and she could no longer be strong against the odds. "It's bad enough I'll have to kill my classmates soon. I can't take it anymore! I can't! I don't want to kill anyone! I don't want to walk around, afraid of who will kill me or if someone would. There's already a killer walking around, murdering people. Mishio...he was murdered...there was blood everywhere." Images flashed through her mind of that moment. Her friend's body lying in the hall. All of the blood that soaked through her clothes. The smell of death that never came out. Tsukimi clutched her high-set pig tails as her voice shook. "Those images are burnt into my mind. I'm so scared. I'm out of touch and I've lost so much. I don't know what to do. I feel like I'm going crazy."

"They killed again," Taiga figured that he might as well give her the bad news all at once. At least she wouldn't have to find out later and have all of the pain come back again.

"What?" She rolled over and faced him with shock on her face.

The yakuza frowned and his voice lowered, "they killed the student council president."

Her pupils shrunk to the size of pin pricks as her breath shook in horror. Tsukimi felt her heart slam against her sternum painfully. "Inori...Why?"

"We don't know," Taiga had a feeling, but he wasn't sure that she would believe him even if he told her. It was better not to dwell on such things.

Tsukimi cried even harder. "Why is everyone I'm close to dying? Inori was my friend. I don't know if I could deal with killing someone..." There was silence before her voice lowered and held an eerie and calm quality that made the temperature in the room drop. "Or do I? Maybe it'll be the perfect excuse...when you think about it," a twisted smile came to her features. It was a smile that made Taiga feel uneasy. "I can always just kill them both when graduation comes. Then they'll feel my pain. It'll be fine then, won't it? After all, you can get away with murder."

...To Be Continued