Welcome, lovely and patient viewers, to my fic! This story is/was my attempt at NaNoWriMo for 2009, albeit the edited version. In fact, there are still a few tweaks I'm wanting to make to the end and middle part. The beginning is mostly raw and uncut in terms of the plot, however. It contains more fluff than should be legal, and my utter failtastic attempt at some humor, as well as angst. There will be a shift in POV to first person later on, because I'm too lazy to go back and rewrite the entire second half of the fic. Sorry. It was NaNo, after all. Oh, and it is Kurofai-centric, but Fay's brother and other characters are included sometimes.

So, without further adieu, I give you:

Reminiscence of Better Days

Chapter I: Point at Which Three Lives Converge

Kurogane Youou, college freshman, thumbed through his paper as he slumped down in the over sized chair in the back wing of the Larkfield Mall. He took a sip of espresso (no sugar), and scanned the paper for errors. He was supposed to be writing a short story that incorporated the ideas of structuralist literary critique, then write a paper on how exactly it demonstrated said critique. The sign is composed of two parts: the signifier, and the signified.

Signifier...signifier...yeah, that part will do, he thought blearily. Now just twenty-four pages to go. This was not his day. He'd meant to go out with his friends Syaoran Li and Doumeki Shizuka, but now he was stuck in the back of the tiny mall just a few miles from campus, going over a literary movement created by some guy in the nineteenth century. Which, by the way, was entirely pointless if you asked Kurogane's opinion. When the hell was he ever going to use this crap? All he wanted to do was write fiction; what did it matter how he did it, so long as he got published somehow? Most would never peg him as the writing type. A bulky six foot three Japanese student with wine-red eyes was not the sort of person the Crestview language teachers expected to come charging through their doors. But he had, and he was one of the best students in his class.

With a disgruntled groan, he pushed himself out of the fluffy chair, gathered his papers and headed out to the upper level of the mall. As a writing-major at Crestview University, he was subject to this sort of things every week. Still, even though he was supposed to be used to it by now, it didn't make his feeling of wanting to push his face into the nearest desk any better. He passed by the Bath and Body Works store on his way to the escalator, and that was where he saw them.

Two identical young men, around his age, with lily-blond hair and eyes like lapis-lazuli, were standing with their arms around each other's shoulders, drinks in hand. At least, he thought they were male. They were a few inches shorter than Kurogane himself, willowy, yet carrying themselves in a graceful posture.

They leaned into each other, shoulder to shoulder, completely at ease. Suddenly, the one on the right pointed to a man heading to a department store and whispered something. One twin wore his shoulder-length hair in a ponytail, red square-rimmed glasses, and pants and a gray hoodie that were both slightly too big on him. Despite his somewhat more effeminate appearance, it was the other one that Kurogane gawked at.

The boy had on a rich purple scarf, the color of an eggplant, and matching beanie on his head. The worst part, though, were the skinny jeans that looked like he borrowed them from a friend's sister...who wore a size 3. His white shirt was covered in some sort of band name . Like his pants, it was also way too freaking tight. When the boy caught sight of the man his twin was pointing at, he giggled, a brilliantly soft smile lighting upon his countenance as his eyes followed the guy until he passed in front of Kurogane himself.

Their eyes met, and though Kurogane attempted his most ferocious and scathing glower, that was not sufficient enough to deter the boy from walking up to him at a fast clip. Kurogane tried pitifully to find a way to scurry away when he realized that his intense glare had not had the intended effect on the boy. The next thing he knew, the both of them were standing on either side of him, one of them in particular a bit too close to be comfortable.

"Hello, and who might you be?" The one in the beanie purred.

"None of your damn business," he snapped, tugged his arm free and skulked away. Or he would have, had the boy not clung to him and skipped happily (stupidly) along beside him. His brother, however, remained a polite distance behind the two.

"Aw," he whined, "That's not very nice, Mr. Blacky! Yuui, make him play with me!" The boy's face was overflowing with melodramatic tears as he stuck his bottom lip out. Yuui just grinned.

Kurogane snarled "Get off me, you creep!"

Yuui gently pried his brother's fingers off of Kurogane. "Come on, Fai. Don't bother him if he doesn't want to be."

Fai, it seemed, would have none of that. His antics increased; he flung his arms around Kurogane's neck and pretended to sob histrionically, clinging like death. Meanwhile, Kurogane counted to ten to keep himself from murdering the boy slowly (it wouldn't do to beat up a kid this scrawny, and besides, it went against his code of honor), and Yuui raised his hands in a hapless gesture.

"Does he alway act like this, or am I a special case?" Kurogane asked, cringing away from the hyper boy as if he carried a rare and horrific disease.

"What can I say? He isn't a theater-major for nothing." Almost as an afterthought he said. "I'm Yuui, and he's Fai, in case that wasn't clear already. We're visiting for a drama event that's being hosted here tomorrow."

A sensible person would have called security, but doing so would be a knife in the heart of Kurogane's pride. Instead, he growled at the blond boy. "Get off before I break your fucking arms!

Fai let go, an amused smile plastered to his face like a mask, unperturbed. Despite this, Kurogane didn't back away yet, determining whether or not he was safe to make a run for it to the Border's exit. "Mr. Black, how about we play a game?"

"No."

"Please!~"

"Why the hell'd I want to play a game with you?" He retorted. "You're freaking insane if you think that I'd want to waste my time around someone as batshit crazy as you are." The other one, Yuui laughed at this. Hell, he was pretty sure this Fai kid was insane regardless.

"If you win, I'll leave you alone."

The red-eyed boy considered a moment. "What sort of game?."

The boy, childish and entirely too enthusiastic about this for Kurogane's tastes, clapped his hands together in an overly-enthusiastic fashion. "Excellent! Play hide and seek with me, and if you can find me three times, my brother and I go on our merry way. If I find you three times, you get to take me to dinner," he winked at the last part. Kurogane shuddered. He definitely wasn't losing. Larkfield Mall was relatively small as malls went, and today it was uncrowded. Besides, he had home-advantage here, being a place he frequented often, whereas the twins didn't know their way around at all.

"What's he gonna do?" Kurogane eyed Fai's twin suspiciously. So far as he could see, Yuui looked innocent enough, not crazy like his brother, but you could never be sure. Yuui pulled a cell out of his pocket, as if that was meant to answer the question.

"Have you got a cellphone?"

Kurogane nodded, not quite understanding where this was going.

"Good. During the game, the two of you will keep in contact with me. The seeker can call me for a hint, once each round," he explained one hand stuffing the phone back into his pocket as he took a long drink of his orange smoothie. "Once the hider's found a place to, um, hide, he'll text me and I will relay the message to the seeker. And then we start the clock. Also, neither of you can change your appearance. For example, Fai's not allowed to take off his hat to make himself less easily recognizable."

"I don't trust this," muttered Kurogane. "You two'll probably cheat."

"Yuui doesn't cheat!" Fai protested, pale hands balled into fists at his sides, defensive of his brother. "He's always played fairly, no matter the consequences." Kurogane could tell from his tone of voice that perhaps the same wasn't always true of Fai. He felt the truth in those words, though, deciding to play. Remembering what Yuui had said, he made sure to ingrain Fai's outlandish clothes and svelte figure, along with other important identifying traits, into his brain for later.

"Alright, how much time do I have?"

"Twenty-five minutes, " the answered in unison. "Remember, you're being timed. Once the twenty-five minutes are up, we'll meet back at this spot, but you also lose the round if you can't find him before then. Don't worry too much about it, though. Neither of you will literally be hiding, per se. Just sitting in a certain store. That's one of the rules: You cannot wander, you must find a spot and stay there. And no restrooms or changing rooms," he warned. "You have to text me when you find him, and bring him back with you so I know you didn't cheat."

This time, Kurogane's mouth turned up in a wolf-like smirk. He loved challenges like this. The twins looked crafty, certainly they had won many times at this game, from the way they were both glancing at each other, then back to the taller boy. But Kurogane was prepared for whatever they threw at him.

"Got it."

Fai practically skipped up and down in joyous anticipation "Ready, Mr. Black? Close you're eyes until Yuui tells you it's okay to open them. I'll hide first!" And with that, he took off, a strange boy in a violet scarf vanishing into the small crowd.

As Yuui and Kurogane stood together in companionable silence, he heard the more placid twin ask quietly. "Sorry, I never caught your name-"

"Kurogane," he said, eyes squinted shut. He could see the light through his eyelids. Orange, yellow, red, a shadow darting here and there.

"Interesting name. Are you from Japan?" Yuui's curiosity was peaked.

"No, I was born in America, but my folks are."

Yuui hummed. "Interesting. So you're a student here?" Kurogane nodded. "What are you study-never mind, Yuui says he's ready. Time starts in three-two-one-go!" He waved an imaginary flag to signal the start of their game. "I'll be staying here."

The Japanese boy took off at a trot, suddenly feeling pressured. Where the hell was he supposed to start looking? He'd figured that the mall would be easy to navigate and make short work of Fai, yet it was proving to be quite sizable. Damn it, he thought, I underestimated. The first idea he had was to look into stores he thought the blue-eyed boy would like. Probably anything girl-ish or maybe a store such as Hot Topic? He started up the stares, figuring that was the best thing to do as there were many clothing stores in there. Oh, God, what if he'd gone into a departments store? That was like a miniature mall in itself. And so close to the holidays...

He fought the urge to hit something. He darted into the Wet Seal, then back out when he found no sight of the boy.

Eighteen minutes later, he was at the end of his rope (and the mall), when he caught a flash of purple in Victoria's Secret. Oh. God. He did NOT want to go in there. Fai was fingering a pair of lacy pink panties, seemingly oblivious to the fact that his pursuer was standing write in front of him. Then, he looked up at Kurogane through his eyelashes. Bastard. He knew just what he was doing.

Here goes any shred of dignity I have left, he thought, and walked into the store. People stared, naturally, at the brawny Asian who had huffed into their feminine flowery paradise.

"Gotcha!" His fingers closed around Fai's skinny arm.

"Aha! Mr. Black found me!" He squealed. Then, he held up a pair of blue lace underwear. "Do you think these would look good on me? I can never be sure if the color's right.."

Kurogane was going to end up murdering this boy, he could feel it in his bones. "My name's Kurogane, bastard. And no, pink definitely not- I mean, why do you want to wear something like that anyway? It's for girls." Nice catching the slip up, dude.

"But Kuro-chuu-"

"What the hell'd you call me?"

"Kuro-chuu!" he repeated, "such a cutie needs a fitting name. Kurogane is just so...scary sounding."

Of course, that did nothing to soothe the dark-haired boy's red-hot anger. "Don't call me something so girly, asshole!"

The entire population of the store turned to gape at him. Women, single and a few with their significant others, stood holding bras and perfume bottles and pajama bottoms. All staring at the commotion. Kurogane blushed deep red all the way to his ears, tugging Fai out the store in his abashed state.

"You know, you should tell Yuui you found me. I think the time's almost up, Kuro-pon." Fai suggested, sickeningly sweet smile planted on his face as he bounced up and down next to his new playmate.

He was right. Kurogane glanced at his phone and realized he only had three minutes left. Quickly, he texted "found him" and hit the send button.

"I'm surprised you found me, Kuro-tan." Fai marveled. "Most people wouldn't even think to look in a place like that, or they'd be too chicken to go in." Kurogane couldn't help but grin triumphantly. He was no coward. However, any gloating he might have had the chance to bask in was blown away by the feeling of Fai taking hold of his hand. "Kuro-tan is amazing! Hyuu~."

Trying to stop the boy from clinging like saran wrap, he shook their hands free. Fai was persistent, but willing to come to a truce. He settled for holding onto Kurogane's wrist instead. He supposed that way, he could tell anybody who asked that he'd been coerced into this. See, I'm not willing at all. Will you help me get this guy off, I think he might've escaped from a mental institution. Know of any nearby I can take him to?

They reached the center of the mall, where Fay sat on a bench, waiting for the two. As soon as he saw them, he flashed a smile at Kurogane.

"Nice work," Yuui congratulated him. "Are we ready to start round two?" Fai gave a thumbs up and Kurogane grunted in response.

"It's your turn, Kurogane."

The college student narrowed his already narrow eyes at Fai. "Make sure he keeps his eyes closed."

Fai already had them shut, and he covered them with his hands for good measure.

"Okay, Kuro-pii. Go hide now!"

Kurogane sighed and went in the direction of the bookstore. This was going to be a long evening. Still, he brightened upon the thought that Fai would never think to look for him there in Borders, because it probably didn't seem in character for someone such as him. Also, he could sit down with a book if he got tired of waiting.

Winning the twins' game was going to be a easier than he thought. At least, that was what he believed.

Nearly three hours later, with two losses under his belt, Kurogane was seriously considering throwing in the towel before his ego suffered any more damage. Fai, the bastard, was much smarter than he let on. He'd found Kurogane the first time in only half the time it had taken for Kurogane to find him. When he asked about it, the effeminate blond boy pointed to the papers Kurogane had sticking out of his pocket, the text side facing up.

"I thought maybe Kuro-bun had come here to get some work done," he answered. "The bookstore was the most logical place for that. Silly Kuro-chuu, trying to hide from me," He giggled. In a crazy, sadistic sort of way. Kurogane himself was positive that the young man needed to be on medication.

Kurogane wasn't one to admit defeat easily, but he was honest enough to accept it when he needed to. "Dammit," he growled. "Where do you wanna go?"

"Go?" Fai looked puzzled. "Oh, is Kuro-pon taking some place? How exciting!" He rocked back and forth on his heels.

"Dumb-ass, you said if you won I had to take you to eat!" He roared with a force and intensity that scared all the small children in the vicinity. And yet Fay remained, smiling as blissfully ignorant as ever.

"Mhm. I was only testing you, to see if you remembered," at least this time he hadn't referred to Kurogane in third-person with one of those ridiculous nicknames. "...Kuro-chan." Bastard!

Yuui cut in gently, "Shall we move on to the Food Court, then?"

Fai wedged himself in the middle of the two men, taking one of each hand on either side of him. Well, he made an attempt to hold Kurogane's only to find it roughly snatched away from him. ("Mou~ So mean~") So he contented himself with holding Yuui's hand and swinging it back and forth like a young child until they reached the Food Court. Only when he saw the pizzeria stand did he disentangle their fingers whilst squealing joyously.

"Kuro-chuu! Kurochuu! Let's get a pizza!" He chirped, slender finger pointing to the display of pepperoni pizzas, calzones, and garlic bread. At least he hadn't chosen something too expensive. This was in Kurogane's budget.

"What kind of pizza," he grumbled, reaching for his wallet.

"Pepperoni," they answered in unison. Finally, there was something they all agreed on. As Kurogane went to the counter to order, the twins found a nearby table to sit at.

"He's awfully cute," Fai mused. "I wonder if he'd go out with me?"

Yuui patted his brother's hand reassuringly. "I'm sure you could ask. He looks like he's pretty nice under all that grouch-pot attitude of his. I think it might be some sort of coping mechanism."

There were moments when Fai adored the fact that his brother was a Psych major. This was absolutely one of those times. Yuui was talented in reading people on a level Fai had yet to grasp. He could only achieve a fraction of the insight his brother had at times. Despite his gift, Yuui wasn't the judgmental type at all. He was planning to become a high-school counselor when he graduated.

"Yoohoo, over here, Kuro-tan!" He called to the large Japanese boy who was aimlessly searching for the the blonds, pizza tray and drinks cradled in his arms.

He approached them and set the food down. "I got coke for all of us. Hope that's okay." What the hell, since when did he care if someone didn't like something he did? If they didn't like it, Kurogane was supposed to tell them to screw off. Why was he acting this way?

"So, Kurogane, what are you studying?"

"Writing, minor in Japanese foreign language," he said, after swallowing down a greasy bite. "What about you guys?"

"I'm studying psychology, with a minor in anthropology."

Fai as it turned out, was not only interested in the subject of Drama, but also dance.

"You dance? What sort?" Not that he cared to know or anything like that, ridiculous...

"Mmm, show dance and breaking mostly. Nothing all that much."

Yuui countered "He's lying. He's very good at what he does and he's capable of performing in many styles. Even gotten a few awards for the breaking he does."

"Wait, breaking as in...break-dancing?" Kurogane asked, feeling a bit stupid.

"Yep, it's my specialty." He beamed at the praise. "So, Kuro-puu, do you live around here?"

"My name's Kurogane! Ku-ro-ga-ne." he bristled at the name calling. Though he should have been used to it by now, he fought Fai every step of the way. He wasn't getting beat by this kid. "To answer your question, yeah, I'm a freshman in at Shirisagi University."

They exchanged glances "That's where Fai's transferring to next year," Yuui told him.

"The theater program there is amaaazing." He said, all drawn out like that, and then he made that pretend-whistle noise that was already grating on Kurogane's nerves. Great, he'd have to put up with this cross-dressing weirdo for the rest of his college life. His mind began flipping through all the possible transfers HE could make to get away from Fai. He was shaken violently out of his desperate fantasy by the words:

"We can be roommates! Won't that be fun, Kuro-myuu?"

"Hn." This 'hn' in particular meant 'Yes, it would be delightful, if by fun you mean that it will never happen in a million years and if it does I will find a way to kill you in your sleep before you make me go insane sort of way, then of course.' Naturally, Kurogane didn't say any of this; he didn't even think it, really. It was more the feeling in his stomach and the voice in the back of his mind.

The were nearing the end of their meal, and Kurogane was hoping that the twins (well, Fai at least. Yuui was alright by him) wouldn't ask to follow him. Fai stretched his arms over his head. His white shirt moved along with the rippling of his lithe muscles as he arched his back. Kurogane, for a moment, caught himself staring at the boy. He was attractive, even as boys went, disturbingly effeminate and quite obviously gay, if the way he shamelessly flirted with Kurogane had been any indication. But it wasn't until now that Kurogane had noticed just how...captivating the boy with the flyaway hair and blue eyes was.

"Kuro-chii is staring. He's a pervert," Fai staged whispered to Yuui.

Of course, that made Kurogane balk "I was NOT staring, idiot. I was just thinking and happened to look over at you." Wow, that was a great comeback. Kurogane felt like hitting himself for that. He wasn't renowned for his quick-witted speech, but come ON.

Even Yuui had to bury his face in his arm to conceal his amusement. Fai winked at him, sidling closer.

"Was Kuro-handsome thinking about moi?"

Kuro-handsome had had enough. He strode away from the table and away from the boy that had made his night a living hell. Unfortunately, the maneuver hadn't worked as planned, and there was Fai skipping up to him.

"Get lost," he growled.

"But Kuro-tan-"

"I said get lost," he shouted, perhaps louder than he'd meant to. Still, the guy had to learn the hard- Oh, geez, not the tears. Wait a minute, they were probably fake anyway. Kurogane had no use for crybabies, especially fake ones. But the way Fai's sapphire orbs brimmed with tears and he visibly shook made it feel like a small hook was pulling at his chest. Maybe I actually scared him this time...

"Hey, I didn't say you had to cry," awkwardly, he put his hand on the boy's shoulder. To his relief, Fai made no sudden leap at him. He simply stood with his narrow shoulders slumped and turned away from Kurogane, gasping for breath.

"Hey, what the hell did I do?" Kurogane grumbled. It wasn't in his nature to comfort anyone. Even when his little sister, Tomoyo, had run crying into his arms as a girl, he'd simply patted her head gruffly and sent her to their mother. Who was dead now, by the way.

It seemed that Fai had a similar disposition to a girl, because he sobbed a little and pushed his face into Kurogane's chest. Now, it wasn't that Kurogane was necessarily a bad guy, he just didn't like to put up with people like this. He didn't DO emotions. Not to say he didn't have them, and he respected the ones who did emote, but he had zilch in the way of a clue as to how to comfort a crying blond boy in a matching scarf and hat in the middle of a large shopping center

"Oi, come on," he protested, "Get your brother to do this."

Very gently, for him, he lead Fai to a stand where his twin was reading a National Geographic magazine, skimming an article on the development of the arts of the twenty-first century.

"What's up?" But one look at Fai told him exactly what was the matter. "Fai, did you have a panic attack again?" Shaking, he bit his lip, trying to will away the flow of tears down his cheeks. He was only partially successful. Liquid filled his already watery eyes, making them appear even more blue. Yuui set down his magazine and helped his brother to sit down, wrapping his arms around the distraught boy as Kurogane stood on his opposite, helpless as to what to do.

So it hadn't been my fault at all, he mused, the bastard really should be on medication. Or maybe he already was and he had forgotten to take it? But if it had that bad of an effect on him, someone should have reminded him about it, he decided. Fai's face was buried into Yuui's shoulder, much like he'd done to Kurogane. Yuui, understanding, was soothingly stroking his hair. The sobbing creature abruptly pulled away.

"I feel..."

Yuui knew what he was trying to say, "You feel sick?" Fai nodded, staggering away. "Hang on, I'll help you to the restroom. Um, Kurogane?" He addressed the dark boy "Will you point the way?"

Once Fai had calmed down a while later, still clinging to his brother's hand, the twins decided it was best for them to leave. Fai was a few feet away, gazing into empty space with glazed eyes, unfocused and tired from his outburst.

"He gets upset for seemingly no reason," Yuui whispered. "Well, I know why, but I used to think he was simply practicing the dramatic arts. Pretty soon I realized that Fai had something wrong with him. "

Kurogane frowned. "Isn't there something that can be done for that?"

Yuui sighed, "Not especially, since we don't know what causes it. We've tried counseling, but Fai...hasn't responded well to it."

"Kuro-pyon," Fai piped up, closer to his cheerful self again. "Kuro, will you hold my hand?" He nearly declined, except the boy was looking at him with those beautiful eyes pleadingly, so he did what anyone would have done in the face of such well-played acting. Or perhaps it wasn't acting this time. No, this time the eccentric young man was being as sincere as he'd ever seen anyone.

He stuck out his hand.

When the trio arrived at their car, an aqua green Mitsubishi gallant, Fai reluctantly let go of Kurogane's hand. The smile he offered was dimmed to only half of his normal brightness.

"Thank you for helping me, Kuro-pi," he said, sincerity and gratitude evident in his words. "You're such a good doggy!~" Aggh, Kurogane shouldn't have hoped that Yuui's outburst would have taken his happy-level down a notch, but it seemed as though that was something that didn't happen easily, from the looks of it. Kurogane blushed at being thanked, but growled at the return of the nicknames, and turned his face away in an attempt to hide his burning cheeks. His shame didn't escape Fai, though, the bastard, and he reached up to poke his reddish cheek. "Teehee, Kuro-kuro's blushing~"

"May I see your phone a minute, Kuro-pon?"

"No," he snapped, without even asking what Fai wanted with it.

However, his snapping threw Fai into a fit of mock hysterics. "Yuuiiiii, he's so MEAN to me!" He sniffled in a way that was very fake to someone who knew what to look for, yet very convincing to anyone who didn't. Ok, this was just getting obnoxious. How 'sensitive' could a person be, honestly? He fished his cellphone from his pocket and handed it over to the whining boy clinging to his brother's shirt.

"No funny stuff, " he warned.

Fai's thumb ran across the screen, landing finally on a button. He held the camera up and gave a candid smile, then typed something with the keypad. "Yuui, smile for me!" CLICK! And more typing. When he was finished, he forked it back over to Kurogane, who looked at the device suspiciously.

"What'd you do?"

"Silly, I gave you our cell numbers," he said, as if that was the most blatantly obvious idea ever. Come to think of it, it probably was, but Kurogane was technologically inept. He could live without the damn thing if he had to, but his sister had insisted on being able to call and check up on him, and it had been a going-away present.

Yuui had already entered the driver's seat and cranked the engine "Fai, we've got to get back to the motel. You need to rest up for the competition tomorrow."

"Oh!" Fai exclaimed, "I almost forgot!" He pulled a ticket of sorts from inside back pants pocket. "I'd love it if you'd come to my performance, Kuro-myuu." There were those eyes again, and oh no, not the pout, that Kurogane had already fallen victim to more than once. They were the only feat that stopped Kurogane from refusing outright. Jeez, he was really going soft. The Japanese boy snatched the ticket from his hand.

"Hyuu, does that mean you'll be there?" Fai's joyous light that landed on his surprised face was almost enough to make Kurogane forget the fact that he was certifiably crazy and therefore someone to avoid like the flu. "The info's all there. It's tomorrow at five-thirty."

He stood on tiptoe and kissed the red-eyed boy on the his cheek, which flamed again. Then, before he could throttle him, he scurried to the passenger side of the vehicle and climbed in. Kurogane watched them drive off; Fai turned around to wave to him as they sped off into the lilac twilight.

He looked down at his phone, at the picture of the blond-haired boy wearing a purple beanie and a too-brilliant smile. A secret kept locked away in those pools of crystal blue. Something to be uncovered, ventured and gained, conquered, in Kurogane's mind. Fai was a puzzle, and maybe he could solve his mystery, but it was already proving difficult.

Yuui, on the other hand, was pleasant, mild-mannered and quiet in a way that Kurogane liked. In his picture, the boy with the glasses and ponytail was only barely grinning with his mouth, but his eyes held a gentle knowing smile in them. Kurogane had to wonder exactly what he knew, and if it was about Fai, and whether or not he would ever learn to come to understand the boy himself.

The twins were extremely close from what Kurogane had seen, with Yuui lending support to his brother in every way imaginable. It was strange to think of such devotion, yet Kurogane could identify. Ever since their parents had died, he'd been Tomoyo's most prominent figure in her life. He'd sent his sixteen year old sister to live with their stepsister Kendappa, fresh out of college herself and starting a new life with her girlfriend Souma. Tomoyo, bless her, called him more than once a week. And yet, he could not fathom being so close to a person, trusting them so much that you placed yourself in their hands whenever something was wrong. Being like the twins...it was a foreign idea to him.

He decided to buy another latte on the way back to his dorm, one with a double shot of espresso. Those papers were calling his name, and he was going to need all the caffeine he could get if he wanted to survive this essay after such an eventful day; he could feel the migraine forming already.