HTITLE: Who Says College is Easy?

PART: Three

GENRE: Shounen-ai (Humour/ Continuation/ Angst / Romance)

DISCLAIMERS: The series I'm referring to does not belong to me… ^_^ only this weird story does.

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Part Three: Acute Reasoning

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He wasn't too keen on starting his homework.

Actually he was not too keen on starting anything at all.

So why was he sitting in front of his study table when he could be out there painting the blessed town red?

He pushed the play button of his answering machine and let his chin rest on his arms folded demurely on his desk.

"Uh... hi, it's me. Did you get through your assignment yet? You told me to remind you at exactly nine in the evening... so here, I'm reminding you now.

...

Are you having trouble with it? I'll be glad to... help...

...

I hope you finish it early so you don't have to stay up late... uh... that is all.

Good night then."

He sighed, banging his forehead on the cherry wood table before staring back at his books. I want to go out... but I can't... he'll be so disappointed... He even called for heaven's sake!

He sighed wearily... again. At age fifteen, he would have been scoffing at the notion of doing homework before bed.

He never did his schoolwork before sleeping.

In fact, he never did his homework before sleeping until he was well into his sophomore year in college.

The reason?

Tezuka Kunimitsu.

The voice in the answering machine. The hunter in his haunted dreams. The only one he found himself looking forward to seeing every single waking day. Well, of course that might not be true, since it satisfied his utility to see his glorious self in front of his shiny bathroom mirror first thing in the morning... but that was beside the point.

He had begun changing almost drastically the moment he met Tezuka - for the second time. The first was when he was still in junior high. A period where he was king and he reigned supreme over his personal kingdom known as Hyoutei Gakuen. A time when he was at his most ambitious... and most annoying (although he dared not acknowledge it that way... for him he was just being... nevermind.). A time when all he ever thought about was what he should do to get everyone to bow down to him - willingly or unwillingly.

He remembered having the guts to actually secure a win in the unfair way possible. He sought to injure - to win by default, knowing the one on the other side of the court had just recovered from a past damage. It worked though... and for a while, he was satisfied... until he learned that the other had to go to Germany to recuperate. It felt weird, that painful jab in his ribs done by something he could not name. They had interacted many times after the former Seigaku captain's return... and frankly, he was thankful for those times, looking back at it at present... but after junior high, they lost touch. Tezuka went back to Germany for some reason and he went on living his own life as a king still of Hyoutei... this time, in senior high school.

And then, he was enrolled in one of the most prestigious universities in Japan... one with excellent tennis side-curriculum. In precisely the start of his sophomore year, he met the illustrious Tezuka Kunimitsu for the second time.

And everything came crashing down.

He had begun seeing changes - subtle or not, in the formerly stoic boy he knew a few years back. He was still solemn, but now... now... he was beginning to learn how to smile. If he did not know much, he would think the guy had fallen for some girl, but he knew it was not possible. He just did not possess the qualities of someone who had a girlfriend. He would bet even, that Tezuka was practically married to his tennis racket and his schoolwork. He did not exactly know what possessed him to change his demeanour even the slightest... and when he did that... when he smiled... he himself, like the fan girls collecting around his bespectacled project partner, wanted to just place a shaky hand on his forehead and do the most dramatic swooning he had ever done in his entire lifetime.

Of course, technically, he had never done any type of swooning. Normally, it was his glorious self that made people swoon... and he couldn't quite understand why all of a sudden, he felt compelled to be like them. Over some genius carrying around a cadet blue backpack... until he finally realized the moment the smile was directed toward him. He did not know if it was just incidental, but it was there... and he knew he was not dreaming.

It was that smile that haunted him to no end.

It was the reason why he fell out of his seat first thing during introductions in homeroom (something he did not want to regale in front of everyone...)

It fazed him enough to make him want to see it everyday.

It affected him enough to want to be the only one to coax it out of those soft-looking lips.

But so far, he had succeeded only once - at his expense... the moment he fell on his ass when he slipped from the chair he had stepped on, on retrieving the net situated at the top - the impossibly unreachable top of the tennis room shelf.

And now, that particular smile was the reason why he was sitting uncomfortably on his swivel chair, staring unfocused at the load of books and writing paper glaring at him with much intensity that his flesh crawled, deliberating on why he was doing so when he could be out painting the town red and doing the tango (horizontal and vertical alike) with someone flaming hot.

Letting out another of his tired breaths, he straightened and leaned back against the support of his seat, pressing a finger and a thumb on the bridge of his nose and pressing them in the hopes of alleviating the sudden wave of dizziness that plagued him. The sudden ache that erupted however was the sign he was looking for, ever since he sat down two hours ago.

He shook his head tiredly, standing up. "This is not going to work." He muttered almost wanly. "I need to get out of here... NOW." He had to get out of his room... out of his house... or he would go crazy, playing the lone recording in his answering machine over and over until he frothed in the mouth when the clock hits midnight. With swift jerky movements, he snatched his coat and proceeded to get out of his room... needing to do anything not related even remotely to schoolwork... or school in general, whatsoever. I should go somewhere quiet. He thought.

Even the great Atobe Keigo needed to clear his head once in a while after all.

* * *

"Where have you been?"

Akutsu rolled his eyes as Shishido stood sternly in front of their doorway, looking much like a grownup in his parental stance. "I don't see the point of you knowing where I had been for the past few hours. You're not my mother." He said gruffly, barging his way through the door, an easy feat for him with his heavier built and all.

"I'm responsible for you, you dickhead!" Shishido snarled as he slammed the door shut behind him.

"Since when did you become responsible for me? What are you now, my self-appointed babysitter?" Slender fingers brushed unruly white hair back, away from golden eyes.

"Look." Shishido glared, crossing his arms as if to intimidate - and doing a very bad job of it. "I'm just saying that you should at least leave a note and stick it to the fridge to tell me where you're off to - like I always do. We only have each other to rely on around here - our families are both out of this area... they cannot come running whenever we want or need them to." He sighed, his eyes softening as he took in the dishevelled appearance of his roommate for half a year already. He was more ruffled tonight, and he had no idea why the usually energetic guy was looking almost flattened out. "Please, just do this for your own sake... and my sanity's too." He tried pleading with his own eyes, but the sinking feeling in his stomach intensified when he saw Akutsu's ruffled feathers actually bristle more.

The taller of the two took one menacing step; making him take a shaky step backwards as golden eyes bored into his, fiery and flaming with something Shishido did not have the courage to dissect. "Look." Akutsu snarled, baring his pointed canines to the fullest, resembling some mean-spirited vampires Shishido had only seen in supernatural books. "I don't care about this helping and caring bullshit you're pulling. I will NEVER tell you where I'm going NOR who I'm with. You have no reason to pry in my privacy. You don't NEED to KNOW who the fucking hell I screw or what hole I stick my dick in. As I've said before, you are NOT my mother!" With finality, he reached out, gripped his long brown hair, and tugged with all his might, eliciting a pained gasp from the smaller boy. "Stop acting like you care, you fucking hypocrite." He hissed, staring him down until he saw the faintest hint of a reluctant nod before finally letting go with a low grumble, stalking towards the bedroom, leaving Shishido to collapse on the sofa unhappily, massaging the scalp where his locks were pulled the strongest.

"Maybe it's best to give up." Shishido murmured, an errant tear falling involuntarily from scared, unfocused eyes.

* * *

Mizuki was still at a loss.

He wanted to make sense out of everything, but his mind kept straying towards someone with such a happy smile that it took his breath away...

"Mizuki-san!"

Startled, he looked up, his eyes widening as they encountered a familiar figure jogging towards him on the tree-lined stretch of Sakura-lined walkway towards his pod. "Ohtori..." he murmured, scared slightly of the fact that he only had to think of the younger boy and then like an apparition, he appeared. He wanted desperately to rub his eyes to see if it was a dream. And he did just that...

And still the grinning tennis regular was fast approaching.

"Mizuki-san." Ohtori huffed, smiling down at him as if he was something precious, making him feel for just one moment... that he was important. "Why are you still out at this time of night?"

Mizuki's dark eyes, although glazed, managed to look straight at him, bringing a tint of crimson on the feminine cheeks. "Oh, me? I'm going home... from an alternative class. Pataki-sensei was being a jerk again."

Ohtori's gaze was sympathetic. "Oh, I've heard of him. He's the Jewish prof, right? They said he was anal-retentive too." He shuddered, relieved that somehow he did not end up being an International Studies major, and yet feeling sorry for his sempai at the same time. "Wow, must've been hard on you huh?"

The older boy started on his way once again, chuckling. "I wouldn't say that." He revealed. "Sometimes, he's very interesting... and very informative. In fact I like him as he is. He's just a bit off when it comes to making schedules for the classes he misses because of his part-time job in the British Embassy."

Ohtori laughed suddenly, shaking his head and looking at him pointedly. "Mizuki-san, you never cease to amaze me! You seem to take a liking to weird people!"

Mizuki's footsteps suddenly halted, the lack of movement prompting Ohtori do the same. "Mizuki-san?" The younger boy prodded, stooping down a bit to gaze down into shocked eyes. "Is something wrong, sempai?" He saw the smaller man's lips moving, forming the familiar name, making him stiffen and straighten up to his full height in a matter of seconds. His brows furrowed slightly before turning around.

He took in a deep breath and gathered up all the courage he could muster. He raised a surprisingly steady hand in greeting.

"Konbanwa... Fuji-san."

* * *

He was obsessed.

That was probably it.

Atobe had been pacing a small stretch of grassy lawn for half an hour now. He knew he looked like a complete nut, doing such thing in a public park, but he couldn't help it. He wanted answers, and so far, what he was currently doing was the best way to obtain whatever it was he needed. It was, just as Tezuka had told him once, simple mathematics - and simple logic.

The speed of his thinking was equal to the time he spent pacing off to one direction, his decision relying on two things: The "Yes it is" thing and the "No it isn't" thing, represented by the right side and the left side respectively. Everytime he changed his mind, he turns about face and changes directions. For example, at present his aching feet were off to the left. Step one, step two, step three, four, five... and then he thought maybe he was wrong about his earlier way of thinking, so he turned and was now on the way to the opposite direction. One, two, three, four, five, six... his mind was, inaudibly slowing off, prompting him to infer that he was deciding more on the "Yes it is" thing, since he was taking too long measuring up evidences to support the theory, which meant that he had lots of evidence regarding the matter. It was that simple, really.

Or maybe he was just deluding himself that whatever it was he was doing was doing great for his overworked brain.

Or maybe he was just obsessing about a lot of things lately... which brought him back to his earlier internal question. Was he obsessing over Tezuka Kunimitsu? He turned once more, heading off to the left... still five steps, counting the reasons why he was not so. First it was ridiculous a notion. Second, he reasoned that Tezuka was not the coolest guy alive. Third was the fact that he could have anyone he wanted, male or female. Fourth, Tezuka was somewhat a nerd... and he did not do nerds. And fifth... didn't he say it was plain ridiculous?

He shook his head. No, no, no... I must think this over... something inside is nagging me again... He abruptly turned, heading to the right... Still six steps. One, it made perfect sense, since he was thinking about him most of the time. Two, because Tezuka, even with his glasses, was still every bit scrumptious. Three, because Atobe Keigo, Pretty Boy Extraordinaire liked beautiful people (though he thought that no one is even legal enough to be more beautiful as he was). Four, because Tezuka knew Deutsch and he knew Deutsch too. Five, because he had always been turned on by Tezuka-like personalities... and six, because he absolutely worshipped Tezuka's smile.

And did he mention the fact that he loved seeing the other man's slender fingers dancing over the piano keys during music 101?

He groaned, finally having enough. All that the pacing left him was complete loss - not to mention aching feet. His mind whirred with complete indecision. Am I obsessed with Tezuka Kunimitsu?

Bonelessly, he plopped down on the dew-wet grass and promptly laid back in exhaustion. Even a more pressing thing should be known though... Do I even know the meaning of true obsession? After all, I'm used to knowing that people obsess on me, or so, many said before... just not the other way around. He sighed for the umpteenth time in half a month and tried to fight the urge to ram his forehead on the inviting leafless tree whose bark rivalled that of rough-hewn stone in texture nearby. The only thing stopping him would be the fact that if he did so, he would be marred for life, scarred for all eternity, considering how sensitive his skin was. If I start looking like a complete hag, Tezuka would NEVER even look at me! I would be DOOMED! Tezuka would disown... wait a minute...

Oh no.

He blinked.

He was obsessed!

* * *

It was dark, but he didn't care even if there were no lampposts around. He knew the place as well as he knew the backs of his hands.

Tezuka was taking a stroll, smiling slightly in memory of what had transpired that afternoon on the thirteenth floor of his building. He could almost see Inui's familiar shining eyes and Akutsu's wild laughter as all three of them dragged an unconscious Hiyoshi inside 13B. His smile turned wry. Inui would never change, that's for sure. Poor stepbrother... Hiyoshi would have to get out to preserve his sanity.

Speaking of sanity, his mind strayed to what he had done that evening. He had actually called Atobe to remind him of his assignment. Why did he do so? Maybe because he promised (although grudgingly, when they were at the end of their project meeting that afternoon) that he would... but why did his heart keep telling him something he was not so sure he could comprehend?

That maybe in the slightest sense... he actually CARED?

It was scary, he knew, but he was open to it. However... he was just not too sure that it was correct. He knew he was not obsessing over the guy, but something in his body reacts almost intuitively to every piece of stimuli the other offered even unknowingly. Like that smiley way he had been led to making that promise to check up on him the minute the hands on the clock turned nine. It wasn't much of a deal to think of that, but what scared him was the fact that...

He actually had a staring match with his desk clock from exactly eight-fifty in the evening until the big hand struck twelve... nine o'clock.

Weird.

He shook his head, feeling slightly lightheaded all of a sudden, making him stop for a while and sit down on a patch of grassy lawn in the park he was walking through.

It was stupid, he knew. And what was more stupid was the fact the he was actually smelling the scent of a very familiar brand of perfume. Givenchy, he knew. It was Atobe's favourite, the one he wore to school every single day. He sat back, and was about to lean on his hands when they encountered warm... arms?

With a start, Tezuka got up, breathing fast and hard, trying to calm himself down the best he could. Eyes adjusting to the darkness as he took out a small penlight he always carry in his pocket. Turning it on, he trained it to the source of his scare - and then he took a surprised step forward.

"Atobe?" He whispered incredulously. What the hell is he doing here? He thought wildly, eyes darting towards the still form and even stiller hands. Wait... is he dead?

The mere thought sent a wave of nausea tiding over him. Leaving no time to waste, he immediately crouched down and touched his ear on the other man's chest, listening for a heartbeat... and finding...

Lots of it.

Sitting back on his heels, he groaned, his rapidly pounding heart finally slowing down to its normal pace. Slowly, ever so slowly, he reached out and touched the sleeping man's cheek, marvelling at the softness and smoothness of what he knew was flawless skin. "Atobe." He whispered, patting the suppleness hard enough to wake him up. "Atobe, wake up... Atobe."

The other stirred, head swivelling from side to side in restlessness. "Hmm?"

Tezuka couldn't help a smile from blossoming on his features. Atobe looked just so cute waking up that he couldn't resist. He wondered what it would be like to see this every single waking day...

The smile slipped down a notch. What am I thinking? He thought dazedly. That was the most ridiculous thing he had ever thought of in his whole life!

/Is it? / Countered a small voice at the back of his head that he felt no energy to squash. Wearily, he shook his head and proceeded to wake up the former Hyoutei captain. "Atobe." He whispered once more. "Atobe, wake up... if you don't you'll get sick - it's too cold and damp in here... it's autumn, you know... Atobe..."

Atobe stretched, his hand automatically grabbing whatever it was it encountered... even...

The crotch of Tezuka's pants.

The bespectacled boy twitched, sensitive to every grasping movement Atobe's fingers made. He wrapped a hand on the offending arm and squeezed back, desperately trying to hurt enough for him to let go...

But instead of letting go... the fingers tightened even more.

And a twinge of hurt erupted under his pants. A vein popped on Tezuka's forehead... and he was actually turning an interesting shade of blue. If Atobe did not let go of him... he would end up impotent for the rest of his life.

He shuddered. NO WAY! His mind screamed, his hand shaking the sleeping boy awake.

"ATOBE!"

* * *

Mizuki wanted to die.

"Konbanwa Ohtori-kun." Fuji smiled quite happily, without any trace of regret as he felt the pleased eyes rove from the younger boy to his own form. He did not even bother greeting him. His heart fell at the unbidden thought.

Why did he have to be around here now? Why now when my broken heart is finally seeing the ray of hope it needs to fully recover from the blow he dealt? Why now? Why in front of this marvellous boy who tries his best to make me feel like the old Mizuki again?

He cleared his throat, trying to make it seem as if everything about him was fine... that he was not damaged at the least. "Hello, Fuji..." He said almost as happily as the newcomer's smile.

But Fuji did not even pay him any heed. He turned to Ohtori and started talking to him, leaving Mizuki with nothing but air to talk to.

"So, why are you around here at this time of night?" Fuji asked with obvious interest. "It's already half-past nine."

The slender boy's voice seemingly slithered down his spine, echoing inside his body, reliving and rekindling the parts of him he thought were already dead for the past few days... the parts of him that had fallen victim to Fuji's charms. It was then that he realized... even if it hurt too much... that he still loved Fuji - and it would be a long time until he would be cured of the cancer of the soul the other boy had unleashed into his system.

"I'm accompanying Mizuki-san home." Ohtori replied in what Mizuki placed as a civil tone of voice. "He just came from school."

"Oh, is that so?" Fuji asked with saccharine interest, raising a brow as if in obvious disbelief.

"Yes, that is so." Ohtori answered back, catching hold of the smaller boy's shaking hand and grasping it, providing warmth and strength to stand upright and face Fuji head-on. And suddenly, Mizuki stiffened. Strength... and facing Fuji head-on...? His eyes strayed from Fuji's mocking features to Ohtori's grave ones. His own eyes widened in comprehension. Ohtori...?

He knows?

* * *

Akutsu was not feeling better after blowing his steam off Shishido and his huffy attitude.

He just was not too sure why his spirit left him the moment he slammed the bedroom door shut half an hour ago. He actually felt sorry for what he had done. But he was not sorry for the part he had said about his roommate being such a nagging babysitter. It was true... it was just that... the way he told him to back off wasn't exactly nice.

But so what?

He was Akutsu Jin after all, the rotten apple in a barren of freshly picked Washington reds.

He did not care to bits about anyone.

Damn the world for all he cared.

But as he caught a glimpse of Shishido's tired and helpless countenance as he sank into his own bed, he had himself thinking...

Did he do things right?

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TBC

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A/N: Hi guys, its me again! That was the third chapter! Hope you enjoyed reading it! Reviews! Reviews! ^___^