Looking into the mirror, Kashi straightened his tie for about the hundredth time.

Even though he hadn’t eaten anything the night the before, Kashi had opted to skip the morning meal, his stomach too nervous at the prospect of facing the long school day ahead.  If the night before had been anything to go by, he needed to be prepared for anything.

Fumiki had come back late in the night while Kashi slept, but the two of them had been able to talk for a short time before Fu had left for breakfast.

“Are you alright?” Fumiki had asked the moment the redhead blinked his eyes open that morning.  “You were in bad shape last night and Jun practically tossed me out the door!” the blonde said, pouting.  Kashi, who hated being fussed over, nevertheless was thankful for the boy’s concern.

The night before had been disturbing for him on so many levels, but he decided he was going to try and forget it ever occurred.  His hazing was over and Jun had had his fun, Kashi doubted he would have to face either again any time soon.  Uninvited, the thought of Jun’s body atop him drifted into Kashi’s mind, stirring a heat in his belly that he instantly rejected.

“I’m sore, but I’ll be fine.”

“Sore from just the paddling or did Jun—?”

“W-what?” Kashi stammered, blushing.

“Nevermind,” the blonde boy said, dismissing his question when he saw his roommate turn red.

As Fumiki fussed about the room getting ready, he continued to chatter.  “You were lucky, I’ve never seen Jun stop everything in the middle of an initiation like that, you must have really caught his eye!” he told him with a wink.

Kashi’s heart thumped.  “I certainly hope not,” he protested.  After a moment, the redhead finally asked the one question that had been rolling around in his mind since he first set eyes on the class President.

“Fumiki—“

“Please, just call me Fu, everyone does!”

Kashi smiled, the boy’s energy was contagious.  “Alright, Fu— umm, I was just wondering… when we found Jun in the closet—”

“Are you trying to ask why I wasn’t shocked and appalled that he was with another boy?” Fu asked, cutting to the case.

Kashi flushed, “Well, yeah.”

The blonde stilled his movements and shrugged.  “Well, for one, it’s Jun!  He’s always after someone or another.  But as for the larger question of the boys here sneaking around with each other, well, I think for most guys it’s just a way to blow off steam, since we’re all horny and packed in here together for such long periods of time,” he paused.  “But for others,” Kashi watched as Fu’s eyes took on a soft, thoughtful expression, “it’s just the way we are.”  He added softly, “I don’t think my feelings for Tadashi will ever change.”

“Does that disturb you?” Fu asked, looking suddenly anxious when Kashi remained silent.

“No,” Kashi finally answered, to his roommate’s relief.  “I’ve just never been around people who were so—open about it.  If my father knew…” Kashi shook his head, “well, let’s just say he’d be less than pleased.”

Fu laughed, “I think that goes for all of us! Anyway, you better get up, you don’t want to be late for class!”  The blonde then stepped out to make his way to the showers, leaving Kashi alone with his thoughts.    

Finally dressed and ready, Kashi frowned at the image in the mirror before him.  If the administration had deliberately chosen the uniforms based on what colors clashed the most with his deep red hair they couldn’t have made it any worse.  The pants were fine, black, but the blazer, a detestable maroon, somehow made the auburn highlights in his hair stand out that much more.

Grabbing his books, Kashi released a sigh of disgust and left.

As if he wasn’t self-conscious enough, Kashi found he had to walk rather stiffly along the halls because of his extremely sore backside.  It was difficult to tell whether the boys were actually snickering behind his back or if it was just his paranoid imagination.  At any rate, if every new student that entered Dorm D was ‘initiated’ the same way, he could very easily see how it would create rumors.  If each new boy walked around with an uncomfortable bottom soon after arrival, he could only imagine what others would deduce from it!

To keep himself steady, Kashi avoided eye contact and concentrated on his classes, focusing solely on the work at hand and on finding his way through the winding halls.  As was usual, his looks attracted attention and several other students made attempts to chat him up, to little avail.  Kashi stubbornly kept to himself, but his aloof beauty only made him more intriguing.  His only consolation the entire day was that he somehow managed to avoid Jun.  In fact, there were very few boys he recognized in his classes from the dorm, since he was one of only a few sophomores on his floor.  

As the afternoon worn on, Kashi found he was pleased with his schedule.  The curriculum looked challenging, which he greatly looked forward to.  His studies were always the one constant in his life, the one thing he knew he could work hard at and see the evidence of his efforts in return.  But as much as he enjoyed his books and his readings, there was one thing he had grown to love more: music, or more specifically, the piano.  It had been one of the few lessons his father arranged that Kashi had actually looked forward to, but he entered his class on classical piano at Ohji with trepidation; he had never played before in front of anyone other than his private tutor.

And Enji.

Even when he had taken the entrance exams for the academy, Kashi applied for acceptance based only on his academic performance.  His father had had to make a special request to get him into a piano class, which he only did at the repeated badgering of Kashi’s tutor, Ms. Suzuki.  Although Kashi had only been playing piano for a few years, Suzuki had pressed the boy to enter Ohji with a concentration in the instrument.  The prestigious high school was well known for its music and art programs and offered graduates a rare stepping-stone for a future career in the arts.  But this also meant the programs were highly competitive and Kashi couldn’t imagine that his own skills would compare to other applicants.  More importantly, however, the shy boy had not been able to face the auditions.  Merely attending the one small class would be intimidating for him.  It was a beginner’s course, fashioned to give participants a good foundation for basic proficiency.  He knew his skills were above what the class required, but it was the only piano course offered to those outside of the concentration.  And besides, all that mattered to Kashi was that he could continue playing.  He also hoped that his past experience with the instrument would help him be less nervous when he finally had to play in public.

Kashi was happy to know that piano was his last class of the day, by then, maybe he would be able to build up his courage and calm his nerves.  For now, he had to endure the lunch rush in the Dining Hall.  The huge, high-ceiled room was swarming with hungry students, many of which jostled and shoved to get ahead in line.  By the time Kashi had finally gotten his food, there wasn’t much time left to eat.

Scanning the long, wooden tables, Kashi tried to find a vacant spot, but he was not having much luck.  He caught sight of the boy from the library the night before, Mizuto he thought his name was, the one who had tried to warn him about the hazing ritual.  Although there was an empty seat next to him, Kashi hesitated.  Even if the boy had tried to help him, he hadn’t exactly been friendly either.  Before he could decide, Kashi saw Nao, the tall blonde who had aided Jun in tying him to the mantle, step up and sit next to the young man.  Mizuto looked about as happy with his company as Kashi would have been.

He had almost given up when a blonde head popped up at one table and Fumiki’s bright voice called to him, “Kashiiiii!  Over here!”

The redhead was glad to have a place to sit, but mortified that the boy’s loud call had drawn everyone’s attention to him.  He scuttled over to his roommate with his eyes locked onto the floor ahead of him.

“Here, sit, sit! How’s your day been so far Kashi?” Fumiki asked with a smile.

The redhead smiled back, happier than he thought he would be to see a familiar face.

“It’s alright.”

In a quieter voice, Fumiki said, “You were walking kind of slow—are you still sore?”

“I— well…”

“Don’t pester him, Fu.”

Kashi looked up to see Tadashi sitting across from them, looking just as stoic as he had been the evening before.

“It’s ok,” Kashi reassured, then glanced at Fumiki, “I’m fine, really.”  It was a lie, of course, his buttocks had been on fire all day and the discomfort increased with every hour.  Not since he was a young child learning to horseback ride on his father’s ill-tempered mare had his backside been in such pain, but he wasn’t about to admit it.

“Fu, we’re out of dijon, could you grab some from the other table?” Tadashi asked.

The boy nodded and hopped off to fetch the item, leaving Kashi and the upperclassman in silence.

The redhead was just about to make an effort at small talk when Tadashi’s deep voice said, “Fumiki has always had a single room, you know.  You are his first roommate.”

“Am I?” Kashi replied tersely, the other student, with his amble height and broad shoulders, had a very intimidating air about him.  He absolutely could not fathom how the cheerful, energetic Fu could be so close with this somber young man.

“Yes.”  As he spoke, Tadashi caught Kashi’s eye and held it, his own eyes narrowing threateningly.  “ If anything were to happen to him, when you two are alone, I would hold you responsible.”

The sophomore swallowed hard.  Apparently, whatever Fu felt for this boy was mutual and, unfortunately for him, Tadashi seemed to be the jealous type.

Kashi was alarmed at the young man’s piercing gaze.  “O- of course, I would never… we could always switch rooms if you’d rather—“

“No,” he said, shaking his head, “Fu would distract me from my studies if we roomed together, but…”

Tadashi leaned over and grabbed Kashi by his tie, “I just want to make sure you will not be distracting him, do you understand me?”

The redhead nodded vigorously.

“Tada!  What are you doing?”

Immediately, the boy dropped his tie and resumed eating, as if nothing had happened.  “Nothing Fu, Kashi had something on his tie, that’s all. Isn’t that right?”   Tadashi said, shifting his intense gaze onto Kashi.

“Yes! Nothing to worry about, Fumiki!” he answered quickly.

Fu did not look convinced, but as lunch was almost over and they had all barely eaten, he didn’t have time to argue.  Kashi did his best to shake off the incident; he needed to concentrate on his schoolwork.

None of his classes seemed problematic, but neither were they very exciting.  One that stood out was his European history course, a class he had not particularly been looking forward too, as it usually centered on wars and dates and other dry facts his father enjoyed repeating.  However, the teacher for the course, Mr. Okano, was far younger than most and very enthusiastic about the material, focusing more on the intellectual movements than just military dates.  Kashi immediately liked his easy and warm manner and it was obvious that he was popular with the other students as well, many of whom milled about to ask him questions after class.

In the back of his mind, Kashi wondered if any of the students harbored secret crushes on the man, since he was not only young, but extraordinarily good-looking, with soft light-brown hair flecked with highlights, and deep blue-green eyes.  If Kashi had been attracted to older men, he definitely would have been in trouble.  As it was, he merely found him an interesting teacher in the otherwise stuffy school.

Kashi breathed in the cool fall air as he walked across the quad toward the music building.  Only his piano class was left and he was making a last effort to calm down his overriding tension.  When he stepped into the large classroom space, he noticed that most of the other students were probably his on age or younger, which wasn’t surprising considering it was an introductory course.  For the first time all day, Kashi took a seat near the front, so that he could have better to view of the gorgeous grand piano before him.  The large, long windows allowed the bright afternoon sun to fall over the instrument’s polished surface and Kashi’s worry ebbed away as his excitement began to replace it.  He hadn’t had much time in the previous weeks to practice and he longed to play the elegant keys again, even if it was in front of a crowd.

The class was small, only a handful of other students.  The instructor, Mr. Kazuma, arrived just before the bell, walking in slow and unhurried.  He looked a bit stern, middle aged with a receding hairline, but his manner was friendly.  After a short lecture, he invited each student to play a short piece in order to get a feel for their aptitude level.  Kashi felt his palms go clammy as his turn came, but he was also eager to feel his fingers over the keys after such a long absence.  A great deal of pressure was lifted from him since the previous students obviously had very little background in music at all.

Kashi was surprised that he felt as calm as he did when he sat down.  The piece they had been asked to recite was simple and the redhead actually found himself adding small flourishes here and there, playing even longer than he needed to.  Even though he was happy with his performance, the instructor looked slightly put-out when he finished and the other students did not seem pleased either.

Rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous gesture, Kashi took his seat, wondering what he could have done wrong.  Mercifully, the class ended quickly after that, but Kashi did not escape so easily.

“Kashi, stay here, please,” came Kazuma’s voice as he stood to leave, “I’d like to speak with you for a moment.”

His heart fell.  Should he not have improvised?  Damn it!  Kashi knew this was a mistake, he should have just set aside some of his free time to play the piano rather than enrolling in the class and making a fool of himself.

Kashi stood in place, shifting his weight from foot to foot uneasily until the last of the students had left.

Mr. Kazuma walked over to him, leaning against one of the desks and taking off his eyeglasses to rub them with his handkerchief.

“Mr. Murakami, how long have you been studying the piano?”

His mouth going dry, Kashi answered, “About three years, Sir.”

“And why are you taking an introductory class?”

Kashi was confused, he couldn’t understand where this was leading.  “I… I just wanted to be able to continue playing, I’m sorry, I…”

“What I mean is, why didn’t you audition for the music program here?”

“I’m sorry, sir, I don’t understand…”

Kazuma put on his glasses and looked the young man in the eye.  “You don’t belong in this class…”

Kashi heart broke, completely shattered until the teacher continued, “… you belong in the Piano Program.”

The boy blinked.  “What did you say?”

Now Kazuma smiled.  “Kashi, you should have auditioned.  Normally you’d be out of luck, but one of the Piano students had to drop out, so there is an opening.”

“But why would I try for the music program?  And why would you want me to?  All I did was play the basic piece, and I’m not even sure I did that well.”

To his amazement, Mr. Kazuma actually laughed.  “Kashi, you’re far to hard on yourself!  I have a well-trained ear and for someone who has only been playing a handful of years you have extraordinary talent!  It’s true you played a very simple piece, but you made it your own and you really had a connection with the music—that isn’t easy and not everyone can do it, my boy.”

When Kashi simply stood there gapping, Kazuma stepped closer to him, taking a softer tone.  “Has no one ever told you that you have a talent for music?”

The boy shook his head.  “My tutor always praised me, but I assumed she was merely being polite.”

Kazuma snorted, “That’s unlikely!  Come now, we’ll go to the Dean and see if we can arrange an audition.”

But Kashi remained rooted to the spot, staring at his feet.

“What is it, boy?”

Avoiding eye contact, Kashi said in a small voice, “Will you let me think about it first?  Please, Mr. Kazuma?”

The teacher was surprised by the student’s hesitancy.  Hundreds of boys vied each year for a place in the music or arts program at Ohji, yet Kashi looked terrified at the prospect.  Kazuma placed a hand on the thin boy’s shoulder, wondering what demons he was fighting that would cause him to be so reluctant.

“I won’t push you into this Kashi, but please take some serious consideration.  It’s a great opportunity, you know.”

“Yes, I know,” Kashi replied, flatly.

Clearly, there was something going on with this quiet young man.  Kazuma made a note to himself to talk with the Dean about the boy’s background and get things set in motion even if Kashi was reluctant.  The boy needed encouragement, something he had obviously never gotten in his family life.

“Think about it, Kashi.  We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

The redhead nodded with out a word and Kazuma let him be.

In a daze, Kashi made his way through the building to the connecting dormitory.  He had never expected to have a chance to be admitted into the music program, although he had at times dreamt about what it would be like.  As optimistic as Kazuma was, the teacher did not know his father, or his father’s expectations of him.  A pianist was simply not an acceptable occupation in the man’s eyes, he would consider such a venture utterly frivolous.

Kashi shook his head; it was no use, even if Kazuma recommended him, his father would never allow it.  A weak smile crossed his lips as he allowed himself to briefly consider what it would be like to follow a different path, one of his own choosing.

As the boy walked down the halls, he passed several music rooms, each of them filed with the songs of aspiring students.  The very last room he passed was larger than the others, serving as a small recital hall rather than a mere practice room, and Kashi caught the notes of a heartrending melody being played on a single violin.

Walking up to the doorway with as much stealth as he could manage, so as not to disturb the player, Kashi was surprised to see that the musician was actually the reserved Mizuto.  The brunette was playing with a lustful vigor that Kashi never would have thought possible when he first saw him sitting quietly in the study room.  His glasses were absent and his hair, so neat before, had fallen into his face in unruly strands as he played at the bottom of the wide, descending semi-circular hall.

Mizuto was unmistakably talented and Kashi let himself become lost in the music, though he couldn’t name the piece.  He would have stayed there, eavesdropping on the impromptu performance until the end, had he not caught sight of another figure across from him in the opposite doorway.  With the light behind him, Kashi couldn’t see who it was, but he wasn’t going to wait to find out.  Quietly, he slipped away as unobtrusively as he had come.

The other figure had taken no notice of him, his mind completely focused on the brunette with his achingly sweet tune.  When Mizuto finally finished, he heard someone clapping from above, near the top row of seats.  Glancing up, the boy saw a familiar face and frowned.

“I should have known,” Mizuto said.  “What are you doing here, Nao?  Don’t you have anyone else to bother?”

The tall blonde made his way slowly down the broad steps, still smiling.  Apparently he was undaunted by the boy’s uninviting attitude.

“That was Dvorak if I’m not mistaken.  It was lovely.  I haven’t heard you play in ages,” Nao told him, stopping to stand closer to him than the other boy would have liked.

“You were the one that didn’t want me practicing in our room,” Mizuto reminded him, turning his back to place his instrument into its case.

“I never said that!” Nao countered.

The brunette gave him a knowing look.  “No, you said the other boys on the floor were complaining—it wasn’t until months later that I found out you were the only one it bothered.”

Nao looked uncharacteristically unsettled by this information.  “Ah, well, it wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy the music, but it couldn’t concentrate on anything else when you played.”

“Whatever.”  Mizuto grabbed his case and headed up towards one of the doors.

“Mizuto, wait.”  Nao’s voice was suddenly firm as was his hand wrapped about the other boy’s wrist, halting his retreat.

“What is it?” came Mizuto’s short and agitated reply.

“I wanted to tell you something…” the blonde’s voice was softer than usual, almost vulnerable.  There was a long pause, as if Nao was struggling with what he wished to say.   “I wanted to congratulate you on finally getting first chair.”

It wasn’t what the blonde had planned to tell him, but he sensed the moment wasn’t right for the sentiments he had wanted to express.

“Thank you,” was all Mizuto said in return before he slipped from his grasp and left.  Once he was out of sight, the boy leaned against a wall for support. Nao and he had been roommates ever since they had enter the Academy two years prior and there had always been an unspoken attraction between them.  However, despite his initial feelings towards his roommate, all desire for the other young man had been shoved aside when it became all too clear that Nao’s first priority was seducing as many other students as possible.

Night after night Mizuto had been forced to stay late in the practice rooms while the blonde playboy ‘entertained’ his classmates in their dorm room.  He didn’t know why he had put up with for it for so long or why he didn’t just switched roommates, but he didn’t.  After the first few months, they had fallen into a routine and Mizuto was never one to complain.

However, something strange was happening.  Ever since he had arrived back at the dorms a week ago, Nao had been acting differently towards him and for the life of him, Mizuto couldn’t figure out why.  If nothing had happened between them in the past two years, surely nothing was going to happen now?  Moreover, Mizuto didn’t want anything to happen!  He’d long since buried any crush he’d had for the tall, handsome young man and if Nao was bored now with all his other conquests, he’d be damned if he’d become the next in line!

But even as he told himself this and walked away, Mizuto could still feel where Nao had touched him, and he knew he would have to face him back in the room at the end of the night. As for now, however, he could busy himself with the early evening study group.

Meanwhile, Kashi had returned to find his roommate absent—but he was not alone.  Lounging on his bed was the one student he had longed to avoid.  Jun was stretched out, his long legs crossed at the ankles in front of him as he lie back with a grin.

“Long day, lover?”