Chapter 1: If we're reborn, let's meet again

"Kouyou, wake up! It's time for school!" Uruha woke up as he heard his mother's voice. But he didn't get up. He didn't want to go to school. The past three weeks, which had been his very first ones in school, had been horrible. He had been bullied by other kids, mostly the ones in his class or year older.

"You must go to school. You do want to meet your friends, right?" No. Uruha didn't want to meet his friends. Because he had none.

"You're going to be late!" his mother warned. , Uruha got up from the bed to see his mother with his clothes for today in her hands. Maybe the other kids picked on him because his mother chose his clothes? But he knew there were plenty of other kids in his class who were in the same situation, but weren't bullied.

Uruha's mother left the clothes on his bed and then left. Uruha just looked at the fabric for a moment before dressing up.

.

Uruha arrived to school late because of the cat he had been chasing on his way there. The teacher scolded him and then he sat behind his desk.

Some kid threw a ball of paper at him. Uruha recognized this kid as Matsumoto Takanori, or rather known as Ruki. Ruki was the shortest in the class, but the most mean. He bullied everyone, including Uruha.

Uruha opened the paper and read the text; 'You wanna be friends? Meet you at lunch.' Uruha's eyes widened. He glanced at Ruki, who didn't even look at him. Did he really want to be friends with him? But for the past weeks he had been bullying him!

When it was time for lunch, Uruha walked straight to the table where Ruki was sitting alone - which was weird, since the latter always sat with his friends.

"Y- You said you want to be friends", Uruha muttered. Ruki looked at him and smiled.

"Of course! Sit down!" he answered, and so they ate lunch together. Ruki seemed rather nice. But that didn't last long.

The next day Uruha found himself being surrounded by some older students after school. They were yelling at him, laughing. They said mean things to him. He started crying and the others laughed and yelled even louder. Uruha didn't know what to do. He wanted to run away, but his feet wouldn't work.

"Hey! Stop that!" Teary-eyed Uruha glanced in the way he had heard the voice from. The bullies retreated as they saw the blonde walk in and shoo'ed them away.

"Wh- What's your problem?" said one of the bullies, even though he was clearly just as much scared as his friends.

"What's your problem?! Go pick on someone your size!" the blonde answered angrily and suddenly, everyone ran away, except for Uruha, who was still crying.

"Are you okay?" the blonde asked and stepped closer to Uruha. The latter winced and stepped one step further from him.

"Did they hurt you?" his savior continued, now wiping a tear away from Uruha's face. Uruha just shook his head, being too afraid to say anything.

"They're gone, there's no need to cry. I'm Akira, by the way", the blonde said as he soothingly Uruha's hair.

"I- I'm Kouyou..." Uruha said.

"You want me to walk you home, Kouyou?" Akira asked. Uruha nodded, and from that moment, they became friends, later on best friends. Unfortunately it all ended after ten years.

.

Uruha opened his teary eyes. Again. He always woke up this way. Having just seen either a flashback from his childhood or a nightmare. He was getting sick of it. He wanted to forget Reita. He wanted to forget the sad and happy memories of him. But he couldn't.

"Uru? You okay?" asked the person lying next to him; Aoi. Aoi wiped a tear from Uruha's cheek, just like Reita had done that day. "Did you have one of those dreams again?"

Uruha nodded and snuggled in his lover's bare chest. Reita and Uruha had been friends for years. But five years ago Reita moved away, leaving Uruha alone to ponder if he should commit a suicide or not. And Uruha had tried it many times, until he met Aoi.

"You need to forget about him, Uru... He's not coming back", Aoi whispered, pulling the honey-blonde into a warming and soothing embrace.

"I know... I just can't", Uruha sobbed. Only Aoi knew about his dreams. Only Aoi knew how desperate he was. Aoi was the only one he could trust.

"I'll go make some breakfast, okay?" Aoi said and smiled gently. Uruha nodded, giving the smallest smile too. Aoi gave a kiss on Uruha's forehead and rose from the bed to go make breakfast. As soon as Aoi was out of the room, Uruha's smile dropped. Even when Aoi showed him the love towards him, Uruha kept thinking about Reita. He didn't even know what kind of life Reita lived now. If he had a girlfriend, if he was even alive.

After few minutes of hugging a pillow, Uruha rose from the bed and headed to the kitchen, where Aoi was making scrambled eggs and bacon.

"Mornin'", Uruha mumbled and poured some coffee for himself.

"Why, isn't it Mr. Sunshine. Always so happy and cheerful, a morning person, to be exact", Aoi joked, the corners of his lips twitching.

"Shut up" was Uruha's every-morning respond. He hated waking up. Back then with Reita it wasn't a problem. The blonde would always wake him without giving him a bad mood. But now, no matter how much Uruha loved Aoi, he ws always grumpy in the morning. Maybe Reita just had a special gift of waking people perfectly up.

... I'm thinking about him again, Uruha thought as he sipped some coffee. Forget him... forget him... forget him...

This was what Uruha always did in the morning. Aoi would wake him up, they would cuddle, Aoi would go make breakfast, Uruha would cry a little without Aoi knowing and then go for breakfast, Aoi would say something 'funny', Uruha would tell him to shut up.

"So, I've a day off today. What do you wanna do?" Aoi asked as he placed a plate in front of Uruha. The latter started eating and answered: "I don't wanna go anywhere... Just being with you is enough."

"Well, we could rent a movie." Uruha glanced at Aoi and gave a silent "sure."

"Uru... Is something wrong? You know you can always tell me." So Aoi had noticed? Well, who wouldn't.

"Well... It's been five years. And I haven't heard of him. No phone-calls. No texting. No e-mail. I'm just wondering if something's wrong", Uruha answered quietly. He suddenly started thinking of what could have happened to Reita. If he had been in a car crash and was in coma right now? If yakuza had kidnapped him? If he was dead? Well, of course all this seemed impossible, but Uruha had a wild imagination when it came to these things.

"You would know if something's happened. Surely you would get to know if he would've died", Aoi tried, but his honey-blonde lover wasn't convinced.

Suddenly Aoi's cellphone ringed. He quickly answered. "Hi... What? But... I was supposed to have a day off!...So what? That doesn't mean I have to work... Please? I haven't had free time this much in months!... Fine... But I'll be leaving by six, is that clear? No later... Yeah... See you."

"You have to go to work, don't you?" Uruha muttered. Now he was even more upset.

"Yeah", Aoi answered and sighed.

"That's a shame", Uruha said. He had been looking forward to a day when he wouldn't have to be home alone, crying like a baby, like he did most of the days. He wanted to cuddle the whole day with Aoi and at least pretend he had no worries. And well, it obviously wouldn't work now. There were only two persons in the world who could make him feel comfortable, and you can already guess who they were.

"How about I rent that movie when I get from work? I'll by some snacks too", Aoi suggested and smiled sadly. "What would you like to watch?"

"I don't really care. Something that has no drama and angst..." Uruha answered.

"A kids' movie it is. Would you like to watch My neighbour Totoro or something western like Finding Nemo?" Uruha could find sarcasm from Aoi's voice, but didn't mind. After all, Aoi joked all the time.

"You decide", Uruha answered bluntly.

Aoi nodded and then headed to the shower and after that put his clothes on.

"See ya", he said when everything was ready, and kissed Uruha quickly. Before the honey-blonde could answer, he had already shut the door behind him. What's up with this? The one time I get free time with him, he has to work... Uruha thought bitterly. He walked to the living room and curled up on the sofa. Maybe I should go for a walk... I haven't been outside the apartment a lot lately, he thought and after five minutes, he dressed up and left the apartment.

For a while, he just walked around the neighbourhood, but then decided to go to a café; even after breakfast, he carved for coffee. And oh well, he loved the cupcakes they made in one café. And besides, now that Aoi was at work, he had lots of free time. For once, it would be nice to go outside and relax, not just cry alone at home.

When he was just about to step into the café, he bumped into someone, who was just about to go in too. He was in midway of his apologizes when he looked at the person and gasped. Spiky, blond hair. Dark clothes. muscular arms. White noseband across his face.

"R- Rei... ta?" Uruha stuttered. By now, the blonde had recognized him too and stared at him with shock.

"Is that really you, Uru?" Reita asked. His face had paled, as if he was living some kind of dream. Uruha nodded. At the same time, he felt like laughing and crying.

"I can't believe it", Uruha whispered. He really couldn't. It was a dream, right? Another one of them.

"I can't either... Hey, you wanna grab a coffee? I mean, you were just about to, but if we could chat and stuff..." Reita suggested.

"Of course! I'd love to talk with you!" First time in a long time, Uruha smiled. Not a fake smile, but a real one. Reita smiled too, which was actually pretty rare. They stepped inside the café and sat in one of the tables.

"So... I didn't know you live in Tokyo", Reita commented after one minute of silence.

"Yeah. It's been five years, right?" Uruha replied. Reita nodded and they fell silent again. They next time talked when a waitress came to take their order.

"Oh! I'm just gonna take a coffee. Uru?" Reita said. Uruha said he wanted one extra large chocolate cupcake and a coffee and the waitress left with their orders. Reita snorted at Uruha, the latter not knowing the reason and asking: "What?"

"Extra large chocolate cupcake? Seriously, you haven't changed", Reita answered. Uruha pouted and said: "Well, it's not my fault. I bet you're still all macho and ."

"Maybe. So, what's up? Anything new in your life, or is it same as five years ago?" Reita asked and grinned playfully.

"Well... I got a boyfriend now", Uruha muttered. He immediately regretted it, though. He didn't want Reita to know about Aoi. He still loved Reita. He loved Aoi too. He didn't want them to know about each other. Well, not much, at least.

"Really? I've got one too. What's he like?" Reita asked as the waitress brought their coffee and Uruha's cupcake. Uruha pondered if he should talk about Aoi or not. Reita had a boyfriend too, so what the heck.

"Um... He... He's really caring" was all Uruha could say.

"Eeh... He must be really lucky", Reita commented thoughtfully. Uruha looked at him behind his huge cupcake and said: "Eh? What do you mean?"

"One must be lucky when one has a boyfriend as beautiful as you", Reita answered and took a sip of his coffee. Uruha blushed, wishing Reita couldn't see his pink cheeks behind the cupcake. He took a bite of it and almost moaned at its deliciousness.

"Is it good?" Reita asked.

"Yeah. I'd offer a bite to you, but I know you're not into sweet stuff. And also this is so delicious I don't want anyone else to have it", Uruha replied, his mouth full cupcake.

"How can you be so messy eater?" Reita muttered and wiped some chocolate-bits off Uruha's cheek.

"My boyfriend says it's cute", the younger defended poorly.

"He's right about that one. So, how did you meet him?" Reita asked and leaned on his elbow.

"Four years ago. Our anniversary was last month. And... I don't exactly want to tell how I met him", Uruha mumbled. Meeting Aoi should've been the happiest moment of his life. But in reality, the moment was something he really wanted to forget.

.

Reita was gone. Well, not gone. But Uruha would probably never meet him again. It had been almost one year since Reita moved, but no phone-calls. No messages. No letters. It made Uruha want to kill himself. And actually, that was what he was doing right now.

He was on top of a bridge. There were no other people there and it was really windy and raining. The water many feet under him looked cold and dark. He stared at it, wanting to jump into it. He wanted to feel the freezing waves embrace him at the moment of his death. His other foot was already on the rail, other one ready to jump off the ground, never seeing it again. Just few more seconds... He would soon be released of this pain...

Suddenly he was pulled backwards, away from the rail. He startled and didn't really know what was happening. He felt himself being turned around, and now he was staring at a raven man with a piercing in his lip.

"What the hell are you doing?" the raven yelled.

"What does it look like?! You ruined my chance!" Uruha yelled back.

"What chance?! Your chance to die? Believe me, you don't want it", the man said.

"How do you even care? You don't even know me!" Uruha cried. The man's face seemed to relax a little. Then he soothingly ran his fingers through Uruha's hair and said: "C'mon. I'll take you somewhere where you can warm up and we can talk."

Uruha didn't know why he trusted this man. He just followed him like a puppy to a car and to the raven's apartment. Maybe it was because he wasn't really in his senses at the moment. He had just tried attempting a suicide and he was freezing.

The apartment was full of boxes, some of them empty, some of them still filled with stuff. There was still some furniture, though. The man, whose name Uruha still didn't know, lead the blonde to the living room and made him sit on the black couch. He told Uruha to wait there and then, after a moment, returned with a blanket and a cup of tea.

He wrapped the blanket around Uruha, sat next to him and asked: "So, what makes you want to kill yourself so badly?"

"I... My only friend moved about one year ago. He hasn't contacted me once and... my life is like hell. People in school beat me up - before, he had been protecting me. My parents hate me - before, I could've gone over to his place when it got too bad. No one cares about me anymore. There's no one who'd want me to live. My life is worthless and it'd be just better if I died. Everyone thinks the same way", Uruha said quietly. He started crying softly, leaving the older male just stare at him with worried eyes.

"Can I know your name?" the man asked. Uruha didn't even remember his real name at the moment, so he just said Uruha. That's what Reita had always called him. Reita had always said he was beautiful.

"Uruha, there's no way every person in the world would hate you. If you died, this friend of yours would most likely be very sad; you were his best friend, after all. And I really don't think your parents truly hate you. Maybe they're just going through tough times and the fact your friend left makes you feel like they hate you", the man said.

"What are you? A psychiatrist?" Uruha muttered between the sobs.

"I'm a guitarist, actually. But yeah, I guess I could make a good psychiatrist", the man said and smiled a little. "Uruha really suits you, by the way."

"It's not even my real name... It's a name my friend gave to me", Uruha answered.

"The name fits you anyway. I don't see why people would hate such a beautiful being", the raven said.

"They call me an emo-. My classmates, I mean. And my parents wish I was never born. My father and classmates beat me up almost every day. If I only get hurt because of it, what's the point in being pretty?" Uruha blurted. He lifted the hem of his shirt that the raven could see the ugly bruise in his abdomen, that was caused by a kick in his stomach. He didn't even remember who did it.

The man looked at the bruise and asked: "Who did that to you?"

Uruha shrugged his shoulders. "I don't remember. I get so much these it's hard to keep the count."

"I'll give you my number. If people beat you up again, call me", the man said.

"Comes from a guy whose name I don't even know. And besides, I'd have to call you every day", Uruha replied.

"I'm Aoi. And even if that was the case, I'll still give you my number. If something happens, you can call me", Aoi insisted. Uruha didn't really know how to fight back, so he didn't.

"You want me to take you home?" Aoi asked after a while had passed.

"I don't wanna go home..." Uruha muttered.

"Then do you have any money with you so you could sleep in a hotel or something?"

"No. And don't you even dare suggest giving me money", Uruha snapped. He hated being in debt.

"In that case, you're either staying here or going home. Take or leave." There was something in Aoi's tone. stubbornness, yes, but he clearly wasn't as stubborn as Reita. There was also protectiveness. But Reita was still more protective. Reita was, in all ways, better than Aoi. Why am I even comparing Reita to a stranger? Uruha thought.

"Well I don't want to stay here either", Uruha answered.

"You can go home then. But I'm not letting you to sleep in the streets", Aoi said.

"I'm not going home after running away. There's no one who's missing me there anyway."

"So are you staying here or not?" Aoi was getting impatient, that was for sure. Uruha really didn't want to go home. But he was already in debt for this guy. He couldn't just sleep in his home. But still, he nodded.

"Good. Sofa or bed?"

At that night, Uruha was seeing nightmares again. Well, he saw them every night, so it wasn't surprising. As always, Reita was in it, but Aoi was there too. Reita was walking away and Uruha chased him, but not getting closer. His calls didn't seem to reach Reita at all. There were some people chasing after Uruha too, in attempt to kill him. His parents, his worst bullies and Ruki. Suddenly a hand pulled him away from the road he was running. He still cried Reita's name, tears falling from his cheeks. Reita was getting away, but so were Uruha's enemies.

Suddenly everything was gone and he was crying in Reita's arms. The dream was gone. Reita's hands were soothing him, giving him the warmth of his body.

"Uruha...? Are you okay?" Reita asked. That's when Uruha's eyes shot open. Reita had lower voice. Reita had blonde hair and a white (or sometimes black) noseband. This wasn't Reita. This was Aoi.

Uruha blushed and withdrew from Aoi, whom he had unknowingly hugged tightly. How the hell had he thought Aoi was Reita?

"I- I'm fine. I just had a nightmare", Uruha sobbed.

"You screamed pretty loud... Is Reita that friend of yours?" Aoi asked worriedly.

"Y- Yeah... I'm... I'm so sorry." For some reason, Uruha was now starting to cry even more. Tears were flowing on his cheeks like a waterfall and Aoi's calming words didn't help him at all.

"It's still 3AM. Wouldn't you try to sleep?" Aoi said and Uruha's hair.

"I'll j- just have nightmares... again... I never get away from t- them." The tears wouldn't stop no matter how hard Uruha tried.

"But you can't live without sleeping, you know", Aoi tried. Only response he got was a nod and more sobs. He sighed and said: "How about you try sleeping and call me if you need something or have nightmares?"

Uruha didn't say anything, so Aoi stood up and was about to walk away, when Uruha grabbed his wrist and whispered: "Please don't go."

Aoi turned around and smiled slightly. "What would you do if I stayed?"

"J- Just stay until I fall asleep", Uruha muttered, his face flushed red. Aoi sighed and laid down on the sofa-bed with Uruha. He wrapped his arms around the blonde and asked: "Better?" Uruha gave a small nod.

From that moment, Uruha finally felt like he was safe even without Reita. As a year passed, he became Aoi's lover, but still didn't forget Reita. Another year and he moved in with Aoi to Tokyo, still not forgetting Reita. Third year and he was supposed to be happier than ever, but didn't forget Reita. Fourth year and his nightmares still hadn't stopped, and he still kept thinking about Reita.

.

"Well, if you don't want to tell, it's okay", Reita said, making Uruha jump back into the present time.

"So... What's up with your life?" Uruha asked.

"I run a snackshop just across the street. Actually I should head back soon, I've only got one worker and his shift ends in hour", Reita answered and sipped his coffee.

"Oh! Don't let me stop you if you need to work", Uruha said quickly.

"No, it's okay, I still have plenty of time left", Reita said and laughed.

"Eeeh... I'd like to see that snackshop. I mean, I've few times considered going there, but I always end up here", Uruha said.

"Well, this is a nice café. If you want, I can take you to a tour in my wonderous snackshop", Reita replied, making Uruha chuckle.

"That'd be nice", the younger male said, still some trace of smile on his lips.

"As soon as you finish that big- muffin, we can go", Reita snapped playfully. Uruha pouted - again - and continued eating. He felt surprisingly comfortable around Reita, like there had been only a day or so between now and when they last time met.

After they finished at the café, they headed to Reita's snackshop. Uruha really liked it. It wasn't too big, but not too small. He felt like in home inside the shop and the smell of all kinds of snacks wandered into his nose.

"Uruha, this is Kai, my loyal worker", Reita introduced. Uruha glanced at the man behind they counter. Dark hair, cute smile and very innocent-looking.

"So you're the famous Uruha? I've heard a lot about you", Kai said and smiled sweetly. Uruha blushed. He had no idea Reita had talked about him.

"Uh... Yeah. Nice to meet you", Uruha said and shook hands with Kai.

"So, do you have a job? Just crossed my mind", Reita asked suddenly.

"Actually no, my boyfriend is the one who actually works. But I'd really want to have a job since Aoi's always so busy and I've got nothing to do", Uruha answered thoughtfully.

"Really? You could work here, y'know. Kai's gonna quit soon enough anyway", Reita said.

"Who said I'm gonna quit?" Kai snapped.

"You would fit better in some gourmet restaurant than here. Seriously, you make delicious food", Reita replied. Kai opened his mouth, but didn't come up with anything to say, so closed it.

"I guess I could work here... But I've got no talents. I mean, I can't even boil an egg", Uruha protested.

"Your beauty will attract customers", Reita pointed out and Kai nodded. Uruha blushed again and finally admitted it would be nice working there. They agreed he'd start working next week when some customers stepped in and Kai had to continue working.

"I really love this place. I never thought you'd run a business like this", Uruha said to Reita.

"It looks like I'm more succesful than you", Reita answered, laughing at Uruha, who was trying to come up with an answer.

"Well, I... I've got a boyfriend!" Uruha tried, but then Reita reminded him he had one too.

"Hey, you still got my phone number?" Reita suddenly asked.

"Um... Yeah... I guess I never deleted it." Uruha blushed slightly.

"Good, I've still got yours too."

For a while they stayed silent. Then Uruha decided he would go home since he didn't want to bother Reita and Kai. As he walked towards his and Aoi's apartment, he wondered how had this happened. Was it just a coincidence or fate? Was it good or bad thing? Well, he would find out sooner or later.

End of Chapter 1

Um... Hi. Sorry, I'm not really good at using this site -.-' so this looks pretty crappy. I'll try adding the background and stuff later. 'Bout the story... There will be two or one flashbacks per chapter and in some later chapters, after the midway, there might be no flashbacks at all sometimes.

Thanks for reading, I quess. I know it's pretty boring but I just love the idea of this story ^^