TITLE: Song of the Gentle Wind

CHAPTER: One

BY: Simply Kim

GENRE: Yaoi (Angst/Humor)

CAST: The guys from Weiß and Schwarz… who else? ^_^

DISCLAIMERS: The series I'm referring to do not belong to me… ^_^

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CHAPTER 1: Lost

He was lost.

He hated to admit it… but he was lost.

Either emotionally or literally, he did not care…

The glaring fact remained.

He was lost.

Sighing, Fujimiya Ran trudged along the grassy path towards who-knows-where… as fast as his feet would carry him. No need for other people to know that he's off track… must get there on his own without shredding one piece of his already faltering dignity…

However, that was proving to be so hard to do since he had absolutely no idea where he was supposed to go. His brochure told him to go to the conservatory's auditorium located… hmm… two kilometers north from his dormitory. Maybe the brochure was wrong. Maybe the auditorium was located three kilometers from his dormitory instead of two… maybe the auditorium decided to take the day off and went to the Piazza de San Sebastian instead… or maybe…

Ran looked at his brochure, squinted, and visibly paled.

Or maybe he was reading the map upside down.

He smacked his forehead soundly, earning nervous looks from random students milling about, obviously wary of his actions.

"Are you alright?"

He jumped, letting out a short shriek of surprise as he heard a deep baritone voice out apparent concern behind him. He turned and frowned, a frown that completely deteriorated as he saw the almost scholarly features of the person who surprised him.

"Oh… umm… hi." He squeaked. "Uh… hi."

Foot in mouth

"Hi." The newcomer greeted him rather formally.

Silence.

Ran did not know what to do. He hated it when people get all silent… well, more than he was silent, that is. He was not much of a talker… and he knew that no one was even more of a silent guy than he is… this person just proved him wrong.

The silence was deafening, and he fidgeted, looking down at his polished black leather shoes.

"You seemed to be having problems." The other guy finally voiced out his thoughts.

He sighed, and looked up, encountering dark inquisitive eyes. "Yeah…" murmured softly, suddenly feeling so idiotic. "I was having problems with the… umm… map." He wiggled a thick, colorful, and glossy brochure in the air.

The other guy's lips quirked in a semblance of an amused smile.

"So that's why you're going in circles for the past thirty minutes." There was definitely mirth in his voice, contributing to the deepening pool of crimson on the lost boy's cheeks. "I saw you walking around here a while ago when I returned to my dorm, and now, I was out after half an hour and you're still walking around."

"Uh… I… I read the map… wrong." He hung his head in mortification, waiting for what he knew would be a condescendingly irritating bout of laughter. "I'm supposed to go to the auditorium."

It did not ensue.

What happened was that the other guy took the brochure from his sweating fingers, eyed the miniature map, looked around, and then turned to him, his eyes dancing with laughter.

"You're new and you're lost."

"Tell me something I don't already know." He retorted gloomily, looking up at the other's amused features. There was a twinge of something in his stomach as their gazes locked. He was suddenly curious of this man…

"Oh, sorry about that." A gentle smile spread on the scholarly face, the flash of even white teeth warming up the entire place… and, surprisingly, his heart. "I see your problem now. You're supposed to go south, not north towards the auditorium, since you're from Sakura."

Ran's eyes widened. How did he know where -?

"Ah, don't worry, I'm not stalking you, okay?" He grinned reassuringly, slightly tilting his head to the side. "I saw you moving in yesterday. I am from Xavier Hall, the dormitory near the main gates of the Conservatorium, and I happened to pass by here coming from the European dorms out there." He pointed to a towering hall that stood far away from them.

"Oh…" That was all he could say as he took back the brochure that was taken from him earlier. "Oh."

"Well, I guess my job here is done."

He was suddenly lost again… in more ways than one. "Oh… I guess."

Silence…

"Nice to meet you." The other guy said, holding out a hand. For shaking. He thought as he stared at the extended limb, marveling slightly at how the fingers looked. They seemed so frail… Artist's hands…

He saw a pale thing that was his hand reach out, placing itself on the inviting palm, his fingers wrapping around the offered comfort, gently gripping, softly touching.

"Nice to meet you too."

A sudden wave of disappointment washed over him as they broke contact.

"Well, I guess I would see you sometime… take care!" With a final wave, the guy walked towards the opposite direction.

Ran sighed and ran a hand through his fiery red locks, his eyes following the slightly uptight form until he disappeared. Then, he turned towards the direction of the auditorium. Sighing again for the umpteenth time, he resumed his trudging, his mind full of what had happened a while ago.

Suddenly, his eyes widened. He stopped in his tracks as a realization crashed on him.

He spoke in English.

His eyes wandered in wonder to where he last saw his savior.

English… He spoke in English and did not even realize it…

Then, like a blow onto his head, he realized another thing.

I did not even know his name.

* * *

"Are you sure he doesn't bite?"

Omi sighed exasperatedly, his eyes looking heavenward as if asking a miracle to get his companion out of his melodramatic mood. "Youji-kun, he's the new dorm mate, not a new dog!" He cried out, letting out his breath in a loud whoosh.

"Are you sure? He looked -"

"Youji-kun!"

Ken laughed as he saw the fed-up look in the younger blonde's face. "Relax, Omi, he's curious about the new guy…"

"Ah, thank you Ken, now I know you love me so much…"

Ken blushed slightly at the off-hand comment. "I take it back, he's just acting like his own annoying self, so no need to get so worked up Omi-chan…"

"Hey!" Youji protested, throwing a pillow at him. "And I thought you're on my side!"

Ken deflected the object and stuck out his tongue at him. "Serves you right!" He crowed, throwing the cushion back at the taller blonde who was reclining against the comfortable mattress of Omi's bed.

"No, seriously, Omi." Youji said as he sat up and caught the pillow with one practiced hand. He turned to the grinning younger boy, his eyes questioning, his demeanor that of a curiously ruffled cat. Without looking, he threw the nearest object he could grab at Ken's direction. "What's he like?" Youji saw the boy's face contort into one of horror as the object he had just thrown hit Ken squarely on the forehead.

"ITAI!"

Youji winced, settling his gaze on his sparring partner. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he realized that…

He had thrown a fiberglass paperweight at Ken.

Not only was it a hard glass paperweight…

It was a humongous AND hard glass paperweight.

"Ack! Ken!" He immediately got up from the bed and padded towards his fallen friend. "Ken! Speak to me! Don't die on me, man! Ken! Are you alright?" He fanned the swirly-eyed boy with one of the folders he snatched from God-knows-where frantically, trying to get him to speak, to know whether he was mortally wounded.

Omi could not help but laugh at the act unfurling before him. There was no sound though… no one but Omi seemed to be able to do it. Youji glared at him, making him laugh even more.

He clutched at his aching stomach as he doubled up with laughter; tears streaming from his eyes and his slight frame nearly falling from his perch on one of the chairs sitting near the door of the connected bathroom.

"Ken!"

Silence.

Youji was visibly panicking, shaking the brown-haired boy out of his paperweight-induced reverie.

Silence.

Suddenly…

"Itai…" Ken keened, sitting up abruptly, shaking his dazed head as he did so.

Youji jumped at the unexpected murmur that shredded through the heavy silence.

"ACK! IT SPEAKS!" He yelped, taking a shocked step back from the brown and blue lump on the expensively carpeted floors.

Omi could not take it anymore. The sound of his laughter finally emerging, making itself known to everyone in the room, startling both perpetrator and victim, who looked at him in a weird way.

"Bwahahahaha!" Omi guffawed, still clutching his stomach, and finally losing his balance, falling on the floor with a loud thud. "You… both of you… Bwahahahaha!"

Ken and Youji looked at each other in confusion. Both shrugged and was about to pull Omi from his breathless bout of mirth when…

"Why am I on the floor?" Ken asked, scratching his head. He tried to remember what had happened. He was teasing Youji, then a pillow was thrown, and he threw it back… after that, something glassy was hurtling towards him. It hit him on the forehead…

A paperweight. He realized, his eyes straying towards the swiftly backing Youji.

A hard paperweight…

A humongous AND hard paperweight…

Youji threw the humongous AND hard paperweight.

"Youji…" He started. His voice was eerily calm. He stood up and brushed the lint off his school uniform, slowly… slowly… Then, he looked up… and gave Youji the glare of death.

"Y - Yeah?" The tall blonde stammered, his hand on the doorknob, twisting it until he felt the slight kick of the lock opening. Just a little more then I can escape… He thought frantically,

"SHI-NE!" Ken cried out murderously, moving towards Youji's trembling frame.

"Eeyagh!" The blonde cried out, yanking the door open, running away from Omi's room.

Omi's laughter finally subsided after a few moments of silence - after the thundering sound of two pairs of clambering feet that echoed in the hallway. He shook his head, still smiling.

Those two… He thought fondly, standing up and making a move to close the door. They never cease to amaze me… they're acting WAY childish than what is required of their age… Nevertheless, I love them better that way than any other.

"What's with the laughter, Omi-kun?"

Omi focused and cheered as he saw his best friend standing by the gaping door, an eyebrow raised as he took in the room's disheveled state. He whistled in wonder. "What storm desecrated your place?" He grinned teasingly.

Omi laughed… his face feeling a bit too hot for comfort. "A hurricane called Kudou Youji and a twister named Hidaka Ken. That's what hit my place - as usual!" He said a-matter-of-factly. "Not a good place for studying ne? Maybe we should just practice in yours, Nagi-chan…"

Naoe Nagi grinned back happily, his face reddening slightly at the prospect of having Omi in his room. This is going to be fun! He thought excitedly. "Okay. Come on!"

And they both trooped out, with Nagi helping Omi lug his cello towards his own room.

* * * * * * * *

TBC

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