When Kai went to school next day, he ran into a familiar person on his way there.

"Oh, hi! Have you had any more trouble with reporters?" Ryoga asked with a grin, starting to walk next to Kai. Remembering Ruki's words, the brunette stepped a bit away from Ryoga and then said quietly: "Not really." He wished Ryoga would just go away - it's not that the young man wasn't nice, he just didn't trust him after what Ruki had said to him.

"Good. You headed to school now?" Ryoga said, glancing at a car zooming past them briefly. His eyes narrowed slightly as he did so, but Kai didn't notice this and kept on walking. "Yeah," the teen muttered, staring at the asphalt that he was walking on.

"Are you okay? You're not talking much", Ryoga pointed out, looking at Kai worriedly. The latter didn't get why a stranger would even want to know if he was okay, so he simply said he was fine, not wanting any trouble.

"Hmm... You know what would cheer you up? A good evening hanging out with friends," Ryoga suggested playfully. "Don't have them," Kai replied bitterly.

"I can be your friend!" Ryoga cheered and threw his arm on Kai's shoulders. The latter flinched at the touch and attempted shrugging the arm off, but failed and let it be there.

They continued walking like that for a while and Kai started getting a bit uncomfortable because of the arm keeping him close. But somehow, deep inside, he felt nice, he felt protected. However, before he could realize it Ryoga suddenly took his arm away. "Oh, , I need to go," he muttered after briefly glancing at his watch and then ran away quickly. Kai sighed in relief and continued walking a bit faster.

When he arrived at school, some of his female classmates immediately surrounded him in order to keep bullies away and started chattering happily. "Say, Kai, did you hear about the new teacher?" said one of the girls who was usually Kai's partner in cooking classes.

"Hm? No..." Kai answered truthfully. He had no idea there was a new teacher at all.

"Well, he'll be the substitute in cooking classes! Isn't that great?" the girl squealed.

"What makes it so great? I liked the previous teacher, she was so nice", Kai asked calmly, maybe a bit bored because he'd never liked the girls' high-pitched voices whenever they found someone hot.

"But the substitute is so hot!" screamed another girl. All of the girls giggled crazily and the one who had started the conversation said: "He's really handsome. Manami-chan told me she's never seen someone so hot..."

"Should you be saying things like that about a teacher?" Kai asked, uncomfortable with the atmosphere - all the giggling and squealing and babbling...

"Oh, you haven't seen him, you can't say that just yet!" one girl giggled. Kai sighed. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to see the teacher this afternoon. They'd once had a very charming substitute in English class and Kai hadn't been able to focus at all because of the girls and since English wasn't his strongest subject anyway he'd failed the following exam.

The day went rather smoothly and soon it was the time for the final classes, which were Kai's favorite - cooking. He thought of just skipping them this time though, since it would be no fun if all he could hear was giggling. But he went to the class early as always, being the first student in the room.

He was fine for a moment, but then he saw the substitute. He was tall and slim, his blond hair was styled and reached all the way to his shoulders. He had large black-framed glasses and he was dressed in skinny jeans and a black button-down shirt; the upper buttons were ed, showing off the smooth pale skin underneath. A sly grin spread on the familiar man's lips as he saw Kai gasp and drop his bag on the floor.

"Good afternoon."

***

Reita was stuck in his apartment with no company. Again. But then again, he was so pissed off it was probably a good thing there was no one there with him; he would've killed anyone who dared to annoy him.

One may be curious why exactly he was so angry. Well, first of all, he was horribly impatient: Uruha had gone to Kai's school and he would stay there for a month or so keeping an eye on Kai and he had promised to keep Reita updated on Kai's life. Today was his first day in the school and Reita had been clutching to his phone for several hours waiting for Uruha's call, although he knew Uruha wouldn't call him until he got home.

Secondly, he was dead-tired. He hadn't been able to sleep thanks to the nightmares about Kai getting hurt bugging him. He hadn't slept properly in over a week and he was getting more exhausted day by day, and the more exhausted he was, the more pissed off he was.

And third but not last, he had absolutely nothing to do. He was the type of a person who got extremely annoyed if he couldn't do anything. Usually he would work or play video games or something but now he had no work, no games (his console broke down the previous night) and he felt like he would die of boredom any moment.

Around three o'clock he groaned and got up from his bed. There had to be something he could do in this apartment! He started looking for something - anything - that would ease his boredom, messing his whole home up. At the point when it looked like a hurricane had been roaming in his apartment a small object on a pile of clothes caught his eye. He must've accidentally thrown it there. He picked the thing up and he immediately realized what it was as he took a closer look - it was a bracelet that had tiny penguins in it.

Seeing it brought so many memories to him he almost got teary-eyed. He always remembered the day it had been given to him...

He had just turned 17 the previous day. It was a late Friday evening and he was just getting home after getting into an argument with his sister. A year ago they never argued, but ever since Ayumu's boyfriend moved in they'd fought nearly every day - mostly about the boyfriend himself. Since their parents died in a car accident years ago it had been just the two of them, they were so close nothing could separate them. It was just natural for Reita to get jealous, but there was something else too.

You see, some time before Satoshi moved in, Reita had discovered a secret about him; Satoshi belonged to a Japanese mafia. Knowing it was dangerous and it could get both Reita and Ayumu killed, Reita had tried to convince his sister to break up with Satoshi but never told her why. Unfortunately Ayumu and Satoshi were too deeply in love and there was nothing Reita could do.

That Friday evening when he got back there was no response to his "I'm home". Confused, he said it louder, but still got no answer. He started getting worried so he threw his jacket and shoes off and ran into the living room. It was empty, so he continued on to the kitchen - she wasn't there either. Reita was getting really scared now and before opening the door to Ayumu's bedroom, he wasn't sure if he wanted to see what was in there. But he stepped in anyway and as soon as he saw his beloved sister he collapsed on the ground, starting to cry loudly.

Ayumu's body and the floor under it was covered in blood that had poured from her head that had been shot. She didn't move, she didn't breathe, her heart didn't beat, but Reita didn't want to believe she was dead. He groveled to his sister and hugged her tightly, as if he hoped she would wake up if he held her long enough. But she stayed dead.

Reita didn't know how long he embraced Ayumu, crying pitifully on her, but at some point he must've passed out because he woke up in a hospital bed. Many people came to ask questions from him, and he didn't really care who they were. He explained the same story to all of them.

Eventually it was decided that Reita would stay at his friend's house for a few weeks. However, the teen didn't there. He left the hospital and went to the nearest bar he could find.

He was about to pay for his third drink when someone pushed his hand away and put their money on the bartender's hand instead. "I'll pay for this one," the raven-haired man next to him said with a soft smile. Reita glared at him but took a sip of alcohol, deciding to just ignore the man. He was probably just some erted freak anyway.

"Aren't you a bit too young to be here?" the man asked, staring right at Reita. The blonde fought the urge to groan and move further. "It's none of your business," he muttered and drank some more. The man laughed, and Reita threw a quick glance at him. He noted that the man's hair was even longer than his and that he had a silver piercing.

"I'm Aoi. What's your name?" he said and offered his hand. Reita didn't take the hand, but he did mutter his name. "So, Akira... What is a young lad like you doing here?" Aoi asked curiously and sipped his own drink.

"Why would I tell you?" Reita huffed. He really wanted to get away from this man, as far away from him as possible. Aoi chuckled. "Because you obviously need to talk to someone. Something has happened to you, I can see it in your eyes."

Reita wanted to say something nasty to Aoi, he really did, but somewhere deep within he knew what Aoi had said was true. He needed to talk. And so he started pouring everything out while Aoi listened carefully.

Several sobs and drinks later Reita was finished with his story. He felt like he'd just ran a marathon and was incredibly weak, but at the same time it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. Aoi's hand on his shoulder felt reassuring too.

Aoi said something, but Reita didn't pay attention to it. He could just stare. He didn't realize why he hadn't liked Aoi at all when they started talking - the guy was ing god-like! Reita wanted to kiss those full lips, push his tongue inside of Aoi's mouth... He wanted to bury his hand in the long hair, grasp it, pull it... He wanted to leave dark bruises on the smooth, annoyingly pale skin... He wanted to feel the silver piercing move against his ...

The next thing the blurry-minded teen realized was that he really was kissing Aoi hungrily. Just kissing him made him incredibly aroused. However, he was almost immediately pushed away. Aoi had a dark shade of pink on his cheeks, but he didn't let his embarrassment take control. "Look, Akira, I don't know what you think you're doing but--" His sentence was interrupted by another kiss, this time almost making him fall off his chair.

Aoi was going to push Reita off again but he then realized it didn't feel too bad. He knew taking an advantage of a hurt, drunk teen was a horrible idea and it should never be done but... Hell, Reita wanted him and he wanted Reita. Besides, if he just left the teen here in the bar he'd end up getting himself hurt so it would be just good if he took him away, right?

And of course, it took less than an hour to get a taxi, go to Aoi's flat and undress. Reita had drunk so much he didn't remember anything (not even who was topping) but he always would remember how heated the night was; sweaty bodies grinding against each other, the hottest kisses Reita had ever had, the bite marks left on both men, the feeling of Aoi's hair in his hand getting violently pulled and every other extremely pleasurable sensation he felt that night.

The next morning Reita woke up with the most horrible headache he'd ever had. It felt like someone was pounding a hammer against his skull. But that wasn't his only problem - he woke up in an unfamiliar place, next to an unfamiliar man with no clothes on. Naturally, he first panicked and thought of both running away and calling the police. But then he remembered some bits of the previous night and came to realize he hadn't been - he'd done it all willingly.

He wanted to cry. He wanted to scream. He wanted to die.

His sister was dead and he'd gone to a strange man's bed. He was supposed to mourn, he was supposed to be sad, but all he could think about was how the had been. He felt like the worst person on earth.

He startled and sat up as he head a groan next to him. Aoi opened his eyes to see Reita sitting on the bed in verge of starting to cry. With a sigh, the raven-haired man sat up too and said: "I'm sorry."

"Well you should be!" Reita yelled. He wanted to sound threatening but ended up sounding pitiful.

A moment of silence followed. Neither of them said anything, Reita just sat still, his shoulders slightly shaking, and Aoi was gazing at him with no expression. A few minutes had passed when Aoi finally spoke. "You're free to use the shower. I'll go make some coffee." He got up and headed to where Reita assumed was the kitchen. The teen sat on the bed for a minute and then decided a shower wouldn't hurt, so he exited the bedroom and went to the bathroom. He stayed there for a long while, trying to wash the feeling of dirtiness off and trying to figure what to do next.

After what felt like ages he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He felt a bit nervous having to face an unfamiliar man with only a towel covering his manly parts, but he soon forgot it as he thought of the previous night.

There was already a cup of coffee waiting for him on the small table of the kitchen, where Aoi was already sitting, drinking his own coffee. "Sit," the raven said calmly, not lifting his gaze off his cup. Hesitantly Reita sat down and took the warm mug in his hands. He didn't really want to drink the coffee, but it tasted so good he couldn't help it.

"So," Aoi said after another awkward silence. "I know you probably hate me. I'm sorry, really, I mean it. But it was you who started it, so you can't blame me for the whole thing, although I do admit I acted like an idiot." Reita opened his mouth so protest - he didn't remember anything about starting it - but shut it when Aoi shot him a look that told him he wasn't finished yet. "I wish to make it up to you somehow."

"Make it up?" Reita repeated, frowning at the words. He wasn't sure if he could trust this man at all. Aoi just chuckled and said quietly: "Losing your ity to a stranger is a big deal. I was surprised you didn't ask me to make it up to you already."

Reita blushed furiously, but didn't say anything. He was already ashamed, hearing the man himself say it made it even worse. He just wanted to sink underground and never come back.

"So, you said your sister had something to do with a yakuza."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Reita asked quietly, clenching his fists until his knuckles became white. "I can help you find her killer," Aoi explained with a tiny smile gracing his lips. Reita got immediately interested in Aoi's offer. There was nothing else in this world that he wanted more than finding his sister's killer - and murdering them with his own hands. Somewhere in a corner of his mind he still knew Aoi was not to be trusted so easily, but his greed pushed the thought away. "Just tell me how."

"You need to swear you'll never tell anyone though. If you get me into trouble you'll find yourself dead before the next sunset. Got that, brat?" Aoi said, this time with no sort of kindness lacing his voice. Reita gulped - would he be getting himself into something dangerous if he accepted Aoi's help? Would he really find the killer, or would he end up getting killed himself? He didn't even realize he had nodded until Aoi smiled once more and spoke again. "I'll just need some time to do research. You may live here for the time being, if you'd like, since you have no other place to go to."

"Wait, how do you know I don't have anywhere to stay?" Reita asked suspiciously, his imagination starting to run wild. What if Aoi was a stalker and knew everything about him?! A laugh (which Reita found surprisingly dorky) escaped the older man's lips. "You told me last night! You basically blurted the whole story of your life."

Finding himself red-faced again, Reita didn't say a word, so Aoi figured he could continue. "I know what you're thinking. 'Oh, he's just trying to me again, as if I'd trust him'," Reita blushed more as he realized what Aoi said was true, "but I swear, I just want to help. I pay back when I do something wrong. If you don't want my help, it's okay, it's just an offer."

Eventually they agreed that Aoi would go do some shopping and leave Reita with some time to think about it. When the raven left, the first thing that crossed the teen's mind was running away. But it wouldn't solve anything, right? Aoi would just think he's a coward. Besides, Reita really needed to know the truth, so if Aoi's words were honest-- But what if they weren't? What if he was lying, what if Reita would end up as some rich man's slave or something? He certainly didn't want that.

In any way, he had to figure it out before Aoi came back. It was a hard decision to make, knowing anything could happen. Even when he heard the door open, he still wasn't sure, but then he thought about his sister. Everything's lost. I don't have anything to lose. What's the point in declining such an offer? And so it was decided, with a handshake and a promise of no more drunk . Reita said he would sort some things out and then he could try to help Aoi with his research. He still didn't know how on earth Aoi would success in finding his sister's murderer, but he didn't really care as long as he could get his revenge.

And that's how his story started.

__________________________________________________________________________

Hi there again! It's been a while, huh? Well, I'm back! Some things I wanna say about this story:
1) I'm not satisfied with it in any possible way so after I've finished all my stories I'm going to rewrite it. Will take some time, though.
2) A guy named Satoshi was mentioned in this chapter. We all know there are like a million j-rockers named Satoshi so if you wanna imagine him as some j-rocker you can think of him as anyone you want.
3) Reita's story will continue in the next chapter and the penguin-bracelet will also be explained, don't worry :3
4) I'm sorry for the lack of updates, I've had a horrible writer's block and a lot of things to think about. I'll try to update more often from now one.

And once again, I'm really sorry for the long wait. I hope you'll be able to forgive me.