Double Clueless Part 1 ONLY - a fluffy little yaoi boy crossover - - the characters are property of their creators, but this story is MY= property - by James Sanghyun Han (a.k.a. Ryouga's Little Secret, Certified Polisher of= Ryouga's Fangs, Dry Cleaner of Ryouga's Headbands, Untier of Ryouga's= Laces, and a host of other unmentionable nicknames) * The oven-intense summer sun beat down on the quiet rustic scenery, giving= every single leaf and flower an obscene brightness and sharpness to the= protesting eyes of the tall, slightly sweating boy determinedly trodding= though the late-afternoon, natural woodsy beauty worthy of National= Geographic. Chest heaving slightly under the dark blue shirt from which= the sleeves had been torn off, he actually let out audible growls as he= walked and tried to stay focused on the rather unsavory reason(s) he was on= this current odyssey. After all, he took these trips to sort out his thoug= hts. Pheh. She could have the jerk for all he cared. If she was dumb enough to= want a guy who was too much of an arrogant bastard *growl* to treat her= like the goddess she was, then she'd be getting what she deserved. But damn, it hurt to think such things. Besides, he couldn't blame her, his= short-haired goddess, as the arrogant boy was very... nice in some ways. = Did he really love her, or was it just another attempt to get closer to...?= *growl* Several hot tears quickly slid down each gorgeous, soft cheek, and he= grimaced and brushed them off roughly, his strong, smooth fingers= temporarily passing through the thick, black hair that fell over his brow= and into his dark, suede-brown eyes. Composing himself sharply, he walked faster till he got to the water's edge= and allowed himself a subdued, sexy sigh of relief as he lowered himself= into a sitting position onto the lukewarm ground, shook the straps of the= huge backpack off his shoulders, took off his shoes, and removed his shirt,= revealing a nubile torso that was deep-chested without being bulky. = Undoing the thick laces that held his dark green pants tightly against his= calves, he rolled up the loosened cloth and dunk his bare legs in the cool= water, wriggling his toes to feel the liquid give way around them. He then= arched his back to yawn with an almighty stretch, his cute little fangs and= well-muscled arms both well exhibited by the effort, and, removing his= faded yellow headband, he bent over and splashed cool water on his face and= upper body. A good thirty minutes later the refreshed, re-clothed boy had just resumed= his journey when he noticed the sign reading "Masaki Shrine." He hesitated= for a second, and then continued forward, and in a scant minute he was= beginning his climb up the concrete steps. Gloomily he wondered if he was= going in the right direction for once. * Masaki Tenchi, dressed in old jean shorts into which was tucked a light= brown t-shirt, breathed a sigh of prolonged suffering as he carefully= plucked the wilt-afflicted leaves off a tree at the top of the concrete= steps. With a self-admonishing shake of his head, he told himself that he= shouldn't be complaining about his current task, since the others were most= likely taking care of Mayuka, and the little blue-haired baby was not often= anything except cranky, demanding, and unmanageable in the constant summer= heat. However, Washuu was finally convinced by much flattery to rig the= entire house and not just her own quarters with her super-efficient climate= control system, so hopefully things should be getting better now and it= wouldn't be such an energy-draining ritual to care for the child. Tenchi= was always a quiet baby, or so his father always said. Sheepishly/Languidl= y scrubbing the fingers of one hand through his almost too-short, unruly= hair, he extrapolated that Mayuka must get her loudness from Yuzuha. He bent his strong, young body down to drop the plucked, sickly leaves into= a bucket for Washuu to look at later, and after he straightened and raised= his puppy-large brown eyes to check and make sure there were no more leaves= to pluck, he gave a quick, silent prayer for the tree and sighed, annoyed= at the whole situation... and it wasn't the tree with which he was= preoccupied. He shook his head with exasperation, his wispy thin ponytail= shivering back and forth and his wooden sandals clacking rather loudly in= contrast to the slow, contemplative descent he made down the stone steps of= the shrine, keeping his head down in thought, bucket in his left hand. All the girls, with the notable exception of Kiyone, were to some degree= fighting over the right to take care of Mayuka, trying to impress Tenchi= with their individual maternal prowess. Ryoko, and Sasami, surprisingly= enough, were turning out to be the worst of the lot. True, Sasami would= feel that she was closer to Mayuka than the others and Ryoko probably= wanted to make up for the way she had treated Mayuka previously, but= still... yeesh. When would those girls learn that he could never fall in= love with anyone who just appeared out of no... Tenchi raised his head when the legs of someone about ten steps down the= stairs came into his view. His stare zoomed to land on a tall, strapping,= handsome boy who had a pensive look on his face. The soulful eyes spoke of= deep suffering, heartache, and determination, the closed lips could not= keep a tiny bit of fang from protruding from his mouth; and Tenchi stared,= sensing the boy's unusual strength. Feeling slightly wary because of this= fact, and because of the fact that he realized he was actually noticing the= boy's strangely handsome looks, he smiled, extended his right hand, and= said, "I'm Masaki Tenchi; welcome to the Masaki Shrine. How can I be of as= sistance?" * Ryouga looked up at Tenchi, intently admiring the short hair, wide eyes, and= the fresh face before quickly shaking such thoughts from his mind; he= hesitantly accepted the firm, cool-dry hand, gave it a quick squeeze and= shake, being careful not to hold the fingers too long, and said, "I just= stumbled upon this place, and I'd... I'd like to talk to someone. I'm= Hibiki Ryouga. How do you do?" He smiled winningly/hesitantly. Tenchi felt a chill of excitement dance across his skin as his hand was= pulsed by Ryouga's strong, yet rather incongruously uncalloused fingers. = He gulped in surprise at his reaction, quickly managed a brave smile to= meet the other boy's sad/deep one, and bent down to set down his bucket. = Straightening up, he said: "I'm fine, thanks." He quickly looked the boy= over and his heart immediately went out to the traveler: such a look of= alone-ness... there had to be a reason. Tenchi: "Listen, if you need to talk to someone, why don't I bring my grandf= ather..." Ryouga grabbed one of Tenchi's hands urgently. "NO! Eh, sorry, just...= please. I think I'd like it better if I could be with you." Tenchi noticed the choice of words (plus Ryouga's warm fingers) and his eyes= widened slightly, causing Ryouga to flush after realizing what he had said.= He politely released Tenchi's hand and sweatdropped, scritch-scratching= the back of his head nervously and lowering his eyes. Ryouga: "Uhm, I mean, just, I'd like it better to get to talk to you since= you're, y'know, my age, and you know, I just was thinking..." Tenchi= flashed his quiet smile, transforming his average features into utter= cuteness and effectively shutting up Ryouga, who gulped slightly. Tenchi: "I understand. Actually, it's still pretty nice out, so why don't= we sit there?" He pointed downward, to a place where there was a break in= the staircase and a sizable, flat span of concrete to sit upon. "After we= talk, you can come have dinner with my family, and you're free to spend the= night if you wish." Ryouga's eyes misted in gratitude as he grinned and nodded his thanks; he= watched as Tenchi picked up the bucket, and then followed him down to the= break in the steps. The two boys set down their burdens and then sat= themselves next to each other, facing down the steps. Both of them sat= with their legs crossed, but Tenchi sat straight and upright while Ryouga= leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs and his chin on his= knuckles. The two turned to look at each other at the same time and their= eyes clouded as they made eye contact. Tenchi, nervously clearing his throat, tentatively patted Ryouga's shoulder= and said, "Now, tell me what's troubling you." *end of first part ^^* - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - i am not an angry girl but it seems like i got everyone fooled every time i say something they find hard to hear they chalk it up to my anger and never to their own fear (Ani DiFranco) James Sanghyun Han http://capeboy.simplenet.com/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -