Part 2

Daisuke and Ichijouji left the park and headed towards the street. They were in the nice side of town: bike paths, playgrounds and dog parks.

"Hey, do you like ice-cream? I love this place," Ichijouji was pointing out a neat little parlor as they passed. "Maybe we can come here sometime, not today though. I have no idea how it got to be so late. My parents are probably starting to worry. I hope they don't act lame with you there," he turned to smile at Daisuke. "It would be so embarrassing."

Daisuke smiled back without thinking. He was watching Ichijouji closely, he seemed genuinely happy, or at least friendly, very different from the dark and confrontational boy he had been with minutes ago. The transition had been so smooth and effortless that Daisuke wondered which was real or if there was a fake at all. If they were both genuine then he had multiple personalities, something Daisuke firmly believed only happened in stupid soap operas. If it was an act, then Daisuke wanted to know the point of the whole display. Either way, Daisuke would follow.

He kept pointing at things and commenting as they walked by. A hill that was great for sledding in the winter time, a empty lot where the carnival set up in the spring, a house that was said to be haunted by the ghosts of a grumpy old man and a little girl. Daisuke nodded and made appropriate comments at the right places, it seemed to please the other boy.

Finally, Ichijouji led into a building and they started up the stairs. "Well, we're here. This is where I live."

They stopped in front of a door on the third floor and Ichijouji fished around in his pockets for his keys. "Ok, here we go," he pushed open the door and let Daisuke step in first.

It was pretty homey. Lived in but definitely not a mess. Ichijouji was shutting the door when a voice called from an area out of sight off the right. "Ken, Honey? Is that you?" a woman's voice mixed with concern and annoyance. "You're late. Now, I know your Father told you just this week-" She stopped speaking as she entered the room and saw that Ichijouji was not alone.

The dishtowel she had been wiping her hands on slipped from her fingers and hit the floor. Her eyes fixed on Daisuke and slid back and forth between him and Ichijouji, filling with fear.

"Ken," she said softly. "You haven't..."

"Mom," he rolled his eyes. "This is Davis. He's a friend I met at school. I invited him over for a while. Hope that's not a problem." His voice filled with sarcasm.

She took a step forward, "Young man! Your father-"

"We're going to my room now, come on Davis."

Daisuke lowered his head, to be polite and to avoid looking the woman in the eye; he didn't want to be the cause of a fight. He followed Ichijouji through the apartment, leaving the woman gaping in the middle of the room. He felt as if he was being rude and that he should say something but he still didn't understand what was going on and he didn't want an incident.

They got to the room and he shut the door behind Daisuke, "God, my mother is such a pain sometimes, ya know?" He said, smiling at Daisuke again.

Daisuke did know, he felt himself relaxing in the presence of the other boy despite himself. He knew he should stay on guard but he couldn't help it, Ichijouji was friendly in a way that Daisuke could never remember experiencing before.

"So," Ichijouji said, flopping on the bed, "What do you want to do?"

Daisuke looked around, the room was very sparse. Aside from the shelves of books that lined one of the walls and the computer, there wasn't much to see. Daisuke, looking for a place to sit, saw the bed, which was occupied, a computer chair, a turned over crate in the corner and the floor. Daisuke sat in the chair. "It's your house, your rule. You pick."

"Ok... How about a game? I just got this killer game for X-box, You're gonna love it." Ichijouji looked really excited.

Daisuke couldn't help but laugh, "Cool."

__________

They played video games for two hours, trading jokes and quick jibes like old friends. It came so easily for the both of them that they just let themselves have fun.

But Daisuke was not so engrossed that he forgot everything. He spent a lot of the time just watching Ichijouji out of the corner of his eye. Ichijouji seemed completely normal and not about to bring up anything they had been talking about before. Daisuke still didn't have answers. That was fine though, it didn't bother him anymore, and he was having too much fun.

Daisuke heard the slam of the front door but he ignored it, Ichijouji hadn't seemed to care. Then, five minutes later, "Ken, come out here for a minute." A man called from just outside the room's door.

"I'm busy, Dad," Ichijouji said in the same annoyed voice.

"Your mother has made a meal for you and that friend of yours in there. The least you can do is come out here and get it, and take some to your brother while you're at it. Now, young man."

Ichijouji stiffened and for a moment it seemed like he wasn't going to move. Then he paused the game and turned to look at Daisuke. "I'll... It'll only take a moment I'm sure. I'll be right back." He smiled again but it was overshadowed in his eyes by fear. Daisuke wondered what the hell was going on.

He stood up and slipped through the door and closed it carefully behind him. He hadn't even opened it all the way to get out, like he had been trying to prevent his father from looking in, or Daisuke from looking out.

Daisuke waited patiently and listened. Seconds later he was rewarded. He could hear the muted sounds of an argument coming through the door. He could catch a few words here and there:

"...Mother... Respect...Friend...This House... Show...Understand...Trouble... Brother...Studying... You..."

The argument quieted for a few minutes and Daisuke assumed everyone's temper had cooled until he heard one last word, loud and clear enough to rumble the entire apartment. "FINE!" It was Ichijouji.

Silence ensued again and Daisuke stared at the door expecting the other boy to come through again but he didn't. Instead the noise started again a different area.

The wall across from where Daisuke was sitting shook from an impact to the other side. There was a rumbling like a scuffle was talking place against it, then nothing. A few seconds later, the door to the room opened and Ichijouji slipped back in. He looked shaken to the core.

Daisuke stood up and took a step toward Ichijouji. He thought he might have to catch the other boy as if he would faint.

"Davis," Ichijouji said, shakily, "I'm sorry about that."

"What happened?"

"I'm sorry. I can't..." he shook himself and tried to stand straighter, it looked like too much of an effort. "I think you better go. I'm... sorry and I hope you're not mad but it would be better if you would go right now. I'll... see you tomorrow at school."

He walked Daisuke to the front door through the now silent apartment. Ichijouji apologized one last time and shut the door, leaving Daisuke alone in the darkened hall.

__________

Daisuke sat through his homeroom and first period giving his teachers his complete attention. If it was unusual behavior, no one noticed or cared.

He got to his second period earlier than usual and waited, forcing himself not to look around. He was expecting something interesting to happen and he wasn't disappointed.

"Davis! I was hoping to catch you before class started."

Ichijouji's grin was making Daisuke nervous and excited at the same time, "Why?" he asked, carefully. Ichijouji's attitude seemed just on the friendly side of manic.

"I'm not sure, really, but it's cool that you're here, anyway. What's going on?"

Daisuke gave him a look, "Are you... Ok, Ichijouji?"

He frowned slightly, "Davis, we're friends, right" Call me Ken."

Daisuke smiled but didn't comment. He didn't know why, but he had reservations about calling him Ken while he was still acting so differently.

"Oh, look. Here comes the teacher. He's so boring I can't even remember his name.

Daisuke laughed, "I know what you mean! I fell asleep three times last week."

They both laughed a little too loudly and the teacher gave them a stern look, they fell silent, but shared a sly grin. Daisuke felt at ease once more and for the first time in a week, second period was fun.

They walked together through third period, talking about the video games from yesterday and their jokes. Daisuke noticed Ichijouji was careful not to say anything about what happened afterwards so Daisuke let it slide.

__________

"Ichijouji Ken, you were a mean jerk to me this week and I want an apology." Miyako caught them while they were talking in the hall between their third and fourth periods.

Daisuke stopped and stared at Ichijouji. It had been Ken who had told Miyako to get lost the other day. He wanted to see exactly how Ichijouji would handle it. He might get a clue as to what was going on.

Ichijouji just smiled and she melted in her shoes, "I know, I know. I'm sorry about that, I was having a bad day."

"It's Ok, Ken. We all have bad days," she said. Miyako was falling over herself to get closer to Ken and he seemed completely fine with the idea. It didn't make sense; just two days ago he had looked ready to kill her.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise. How about at lunch today?"

"You bet you'll make it up to me," she said, playfully poking him in the chest.

They were flirting! Daisuke was appalled to see that Ichijouji was flirting with the bitch.

Ichijouji chuckled, grabbed her hand and didn't let go, "Lunch then." Daisuke must have been unintentionally choking because Ichijouji finally noticed him. "Oh, you remember Davis, right?"

She pulled away from Ichijouji and glared at Daisuke. Miyako scoffed.

"Hey, Davis, did you want to have lunch with us?"

Miyako put her hands on her hips, "Is he why you ditched me yesterday?"

Ichijouji looked confused, "No. Why would you say that?" He said turning his attention back to her.

"I have to go to class," Daisuke said louder that necessary, even for a crowded hall. He felt like grinding his teeth and he didn't even know why, "I'll see you later, Ichijouji."

Daisuke turned and walked away, he could hear Miyako's voice turn shrill and she started yelling about something. He started to tune it out; he really didn't care what was going on between them. He was angry for some reason.

Then he heard Ichijouji shout, "Wait! Davis, hold up a second." He caught up right before Daisuke entered his class.

Daisuke noticed that Miyako had stopped screaming. He looked over Ichijouji's shoulder and down the hall. Miyako was just standing there with people walking around her. Daisuke thought she wasn't moving at all, until he saw her hand come up and touched her lips. She looked shocked and pleased.

Daisuke looked back at Ichijouji with accusation in his eyes, but the other boy didn't even notice. "What about lunch?"

"I have first lunch," Daisuke said stonily.

"Oh... Miyako and I have third lunch. Well, are you busy after school, today? Can you come over again?"

Daisuke was about to say no but the look in Ichijouji's eyes made him change his mind, "I guess."

"Great," Ichijouji's smile glowed. "I'll even let you win a few games just like last time."

Daisuke couldn't help smiling back, "You didn't let me win anything."

"Yeah. Ok, we'll see," He glanced at his watch, "Is five minutes after the last bell Ok for you? I'll meet you at the front gate. Don't be late. Oh, and Davis, call me Ken."

He dashed off to his class and completely missed the look on Daisuke's face.

__________

Daisuke spent the rest of the day over-analyzing Ken's last words. He still wasn't any closer to understanding what was going on.

Daisuke showed up at the gate one minute and thirty-six seconds after the last bell. He didn't know what to expect, but he was expecting something.

So when Ichijouji showed up at the front gate, a full thirty-two seconds early, showing no sign of anything unusual, Daisuke found it disconcerting. Ichijouji had even stopped to greet Daisuke before they started off to his house. Daisuke supposed that he shouldn't find it odd; Ichijouji seemed the exact person to smile and be nice and...

Really there was nothing odd about what Ichijouji was doing now. Only, earlier today, when Ichijouji had looked at him, there was something there. While Miyako had walked off grinning stupidly in the background, and Daisuke had been so pissed that his vision had been wavering, he could have sworn he saw something move on Ichijouji's face. While Ichijouji had said, "Don't be late," Daisuke could have sworn he saw something moving behind the other boy's eyes, or maybe Daisuke had imagined it. There certainly wasn't any sign of it now, whatever it was.

Ichijouji was telling some sort funny story and Daisuke was laughing on autopilot. He noticed that they were walking the other direction around the community center, towards the playground side. Well, Ichijouji had said that he didn't normally take the way through the park, but suddenly Daisuke had the overwhelming urge to ask why Ichijouji had gone to the park yesterday, just to see his reaction.

But when Daisuke opened his mouth, what came out instead was, "How did lunch go?"

"Huh?" Ichijouji asked, distracted from the punch line of his story.

"Lunch with Miyako," Daisuke plowed on, "how did it go?"

"Ah. The Lovely Miyako." Ichijouji said with a grin.

"Lovely?"

He shrugged, "Lunch was fine. She mostly just wanted to sit near me and giggle. She didn't even yell at me the whole time."

"Does she do that often?"

"What? Giggle or yell?"

Daisuke tried to shrug nonchalantly, "Both."

"Well, yeah. She only does it cuz she likes me. Well, she giggles cuz she likes me. She yells cuz she gets frustrated, ya know, that I keep managing to avoid asking her out."

"What? Like on a date?"

Ichijouji nodded, "On a date, to be my girlfriend, that sort of thing."

Daisuke nearly choked, "Do you like her?"

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, she's nice, most of time, and she's pretty smart." He smiled suddenly, "She's cute. Oh, and she actually likes me back. So, yeah, I like her."

"So, why haven't you asked her out?" Daisuke hoped that it really hadn't sounded like an accusation.

He didn't answer. He actually sped up his pace a bit.

"Ichijouji?"

"What? Didn't hear you, the cars on the street are kinda loud. They're just whizzing by."

"Are you gonna go out with Miyako?" Daisuke said, rushing to keep up.

"Hey! We're here already. Come on Davis, we have a score to settle." Ichijouji rushed into the building.

Daisuke couldn't understand how he felt both cheated and relieved that Ichijouji had not answered his question. The more time he spend with Ichijouji the more questions he had and none of them were getting answered. It would have been driving his crazy, except Daisuke had stopped caring. He didn't have any worries when he was with Ichijouji, so he was going to stop finding things to worry about.

__________

They were having fun, laughing and joking and occasionally shoving each other playfully as they tried to claim victory over the videogames.

It was fun, until, "Ken, get out here." It was his father.

Ichijouji frowned, "It's Ok. I'll be right back," and Ichijouji slipped out again.

Daisuke tried not to listen but the words drifted through the crack that Ichijouji had left when he forgot to shut the door all the way.

"This afternoon, Osamu couldn't find his Advanced Sciences book. He said you took it."

"I don't have his book."

"Quiet. He found the book later today. He feels bad about blaming you and he wants to apologize."

"That's fine. Apology accepted."

"You're being ungrateful. He can not focus on his work until he has said his peace so go in there and just listen to what he has to say."

"No."

"Young man..."

"This is so stupid! He just wants something! You let him get away with this all the time!"

"I won't tell you again."

Daisuke heard stomping and then nothing, he assumed it had been Ichijouji stomping off into his brother's room.

For a long time Daisuke couldn't hear anything, he was tempted to press his ear to the wall but resisted, he hadn't got that desperate. Suddenly, the floor shook like something large had been thrown against it, and then against the wall. Whatever it was, it was heavy enough to dislodge several books that crashed to the floor at Daisuke's feet. Then Daisuke heard a shout, "Get out of here, you Freak." It was a voice he didn't recognize, it must have been Osamu.

A door slammed and then Ichijouji's father started yelling, "I can't believe this. You Ungra-" His father stopped speaking suddenly, almost as if he had been gagged, but Daisuke couldn't hear any choking.

Daisuke wanted to take a peak outside the door to see what happening but he didn't. Instead the door opened fully and the other boy stepped through, deliberately closing the door behind him.

And Daisuke knew, "Ken."

The boy started at him critically then nodded briefly, "Daisuke."

Contact the author at Apple_qb@hotmail.com

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