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I was sitting at a lunch table with God knows what in front of me absently staring at the white walls. If only someone would realize that white was in no way "relaxing" or "non threatening" and would make any sane person insane instead then maybe they would repaint the damn place!'It's your stuck up fucking parents fault your in here in the first place, you know?'"Shut up."'Oh come on you big baby, you know it's the truth.'"Shut-up..."'What's the matter? Annoyed with me already?'"I SAID SHUT UP!!!"No one in the dining area gave me second glance, but then again it really wasn't that uncommon for someone to have outbursts or even start talking to themselves in a place like this. Toue Institute for the Mentally Unstable. How did I get here? Well, I'll save that story for later. For now let's get back to the matter at hand, the fact that no one, wait, dammit, someone's coming over just when I thought I could pretend that I wasn't yelling at myself."Are you alright?"'Damn, he's pretty hot for a nut!'"Shut up." I tried muttering as quietly as possible, apparently not quiet enough."Oh! I'm sorry! Please excuse me!" The guy speaking stood exactly where he was. Even though I didn't want to admit it he was pretty attractive; messy white hair, light pink eyes and the most adorable two beauty marks adorning his chin...shit, I just used the word adorable to describe a guy. I groaned and buried my head unto my arms which were folded in front of me of me on the table.I raised my head before mumbling, "I, uh, wasn't talking to, um, you?" Of course any sane person would be apprehensive about making a statement like that but sometimes I forgot where I was. The guys face lit up with the largest, cheeriest and most genuine smile I've ever seen."Oh good! I thought you wouldn't want to talk to me,. I'm so glad that's not the case." He plopped down into the seat across from me. I was about to tell him that just because I didn't tell him to shut up didn't mean I wanted to talk to him when all of a sudden a hand was thrust practically into my face. I took it hesitantly."I'm Clear!""Aoba.""Aoba-san! Such a pretty name!"'What's up with the honorific?' I wondered about it myself."You still use honorifics?"He smiled even wider, if that was possible. "It never hurts to be polite, Aoba-san!"'Okay, hot but a total air-head. He'd probably be easy to train though...'"I'm not a pervert!""I never thought you were Aoba-san!"I nearly died of humiliation. Why the hell did I say that out loud?!"Um, I didn't mean to...ugh!" I groaned in frustration and buried my face back into my hands."Oh! Aoba-san wasn't talking to me again! I understand!"I could have died on the spot, instead I decided to change the subject. "So, do you know anyone else here?"'Yeah, anyone half-way sane?'"I actually do! I have a lot of friends here! Let me introduce you!"He jumped from the seat and grabbed my hand, dragging me to a table where four guys sat. Three were in the standard institue uniform consisting of a white t-shirt and grey sweatpants, signifying they were patients, while the fourth was in nurse's scrubs, which were the most obnoxious shade of fire-engine red I might add."So here on the left is Noiz-san," he pointed to a blonde kid slightly younger than me covered in piercings. He was tearing a piece of bread into oblivion.'You can tear my ass to pieces whenever you want!' Oh my god, everything was sexual with this damn guy in my head!"Next to Noiz-san is Mink-san," Mink was apparently a muscular guy with brown dreads and an expression that screamed, 'shut-the-fuck-up-or-I'm-gonna-kill-you'. Frankly he was terrifying.'There's no way I'm fucking with him.' For once I had to agree.Clear was still rambling on, "after Mink-san is Ren-san! He's so fluffy!" Clear then proceeded to pat the guys head.'Heh. He's not bad looking either, huh? Damn, why are all these nuts so hot!'I rolled my eyes but had to agree that Ren wasn't bad looking at all with his black-blue hair and amber eyes. Clear then pointed to the guy in nurse's scrubs."And lastly we have Koujaku-san! He's a nurse here!"Koujaku was the oldest of the group with black hair and a tattoo on his face which was mostly covered by his bangs that were swept to the side.'He's totally gay! No questions asked!'The guy, Koujaku, stood up."Introduction time! I'm Koujaku, I'm a nurse here and I am known for being a ladies man." He gave a ridiculous wink at the end of his little speech.'Yep, total homo in denial!'Next to speak was the pierced kid, Noiz."Noiz. I'm in here for having self mutilation issues, I did all my piercings myself." It was only then that I noticed that his hands were completely bandaged from the knuckle to his wrists. Next was Ren's turn to speak."Woof! Grrr, woof woof arf!"I stood dumbfounded. Did Ren just bark at me?"He says his name is Ren and he would like to be recognized as his true species, a canine." And apparently Clear speaks dog.'Okay, batshit crazy but still hot.'Finally it was Mink's turn to speak.".....""Mink-san doesn't speak!""So what are you in for?" Noiz turned steely green eyes towards me."Um, nothing really..."He scoffed. "Nothing really? Come on! We all shared why we're in here, now is your turn!""Shut up brat! He'll tell when he's ready, right Aoba?" Koujaku intervened.I looked around, aside from Mink everyone did sort of share why they were here. That is until I remembered that Clear hadn't told me why he was here either. Maybe if I shared first..."I was..." I stopped. I wouldn't tell them the cause just yet, I'll just stick with the problem, "I have dissociative identity disorder."Noiz looked confused. "What the fuck is that?" He looked to Koujaku who just shrugged. What kind of nurse didn't know about mental diserders? Then again Koujaku didn't look much like a nurse anyway. Clear jumped up."Oh, oh! I know this one! It's also called split personality! It means that someone has another identity separate from their own inside of them, like an imaginary friend except their not imaginary! So that's who you were talking to! That's so cool! What's their name? Are they male or female? Can we meet them?""Sounds fucked up to me." Noiz crossed his arms."Ah, now I remember learning about that! Uh, sort of. I was kind of flirting at the time...""Woof, woof woof woof. Grrr.""Oh, Ren-san says 'That's cool, I'd like to play with them one day'."Mink just grunted. I turned to Clear."To answer all your questions, I think you'll probably meet him someday. He likes to meet new people," and screw up my entire life, "so he can answer your questions." I scratched my head nervously. "So, um, Clear." He turned his full attention to me. "Why are you, uh..." It took him a moment until he realized what I was asking."Ah! I almost forgot to tell you why I'm here!"Noiz cut in, "It's cause this guy might not look it but he's all kinds of crazy. Hell, when he first arrived he was wearing a fucking gas mask and refused to take it off! The hospital staff finally reached an agreement with him, he would take off the gas mask if they removed all mirrors.""Yes, I have spectrophobia."I was perplexed. "What's that?""The fear of your own reflection. I can't look at mirrors, bodies of water, metals, reflective surfaces or anything else resembling a mirror or I get terrified. I used to wear my grandpa's old gas mask from when he was in the war so I wouldn't have to see my face. But my grandpa got concerned so after talking together we decided it'd be best if I stayed here seeing as living in society with such a disorder is quite the hassle!"I blinked once, then twice. I just hoped I'd be able to survive this place.'Yep, I knew it! The hotter they are the more fucked in the head they are!'I held my head and groaned,"Shut up already!"
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"Aoba-san, are you okay?" Clear looked at me earnestly. I tried to smile."Yeah, I'm fine." I lowered my hands and looked to the odd group sitting in front of me. They weren't bad people, just different. But then again I wasn't any different. Hell, I'm probably just as crazy as them! "Yeah," I said with more confidence. "I'm better than fine! I met all of you so I think I'll be just fine in this place!"Clear smiled at me, "I'm so glad, Aoba-san!""Yeah, let's be friends!" Koujaku extended a hand towards me. I shook it."Sure, you seem pretty sane for being in this hell-hole.""Listen, Beanstalk, don't talk like that in this place! This is a friendly and safe environment.""Tch. Whatever, old man. Just 'cause you don't have to live here doesn't mean it's some fucking wonderland!""Listen here, bastard! I'm am NOT old! And besides, I take the night shifts here so I practically live here too."Noiz snickered. "Yeah, that's just 'cause you don't have anyone to go back home to!""Why you..."Clear interrupted. "They may not look it but, Noiz-san and Koujaku-san are actually really good friends!" Both men turned their heads away from each other and scoffed. The entire effect was thrown off by the slight blush adorning both of their faces. I smiled. Yeah, I think I'll like this place just fine. Suddenly, out of the blue Mink spoke up surprising not only me but everyone at the table."It's Wednesday..."Okay, maybe this guy was just as nuts as the rest."Ah! That's right! Aoba-san you're new so you don't know but every Wednesday is group day! We all get together and share our thoughts and feelings and if something is bothering us we get to talk about it!""Oh, yeah! I'm heading the group tonight!" Koujaku seemed like he just remembered. Did this guy even really want to be a nurse?"Then shouldn't Koujaku-san be setting up the room soon? The meeting's in 20 minutes..." Koujaku jumped from his seat like his ass was on fire and rushed off to another room. Noiz smirked and muttered under his breath. I couldn't be sure but I could have sworn it sounded suspiciously like 'silly guy'.'Told you! I bet piercing kid and denial-homo-man are totally fucking!'I rolled my eyes and Clear smiled knowingly."Is the other Aoba-san talking to you again?"The smile and question could have, and should have, been condescending. Yet it wasn't. The way he smiled was so genuine and pure, it was like he was interested in getting to know me. ALL of me, not just me, Aoba-san, but the other me. He wanted to see me laid bare and exposed but I somehow got the feeling that he'd never judge me. He just wanted to know and understand me. The thought sent a full-bodied shudder through me."Um, yeah." I blushed. What the hell?! Wait, wait, wait just a minute! Why the hell am I blushing?! I'm not some high school girl with her first crush! I looked down at the table. Clear just smiled and turned to have a conversation with Ren. I inadvertently ended up tuning them out, trying to sort out my feelings, but everytime I got close it slipped away from me. I was so lost in thought that I didn't even realize that 20 minutes had already passed."Aoba-san, it's time for the meeting! Are you ready?" Clear smiled at me, the same smile as before, and held his hand out to me."Mm. I'm ready." I took his hand with my sweaty, shaky one and let myself be pulled up before letting go and letting Clear lead me to the group room. Why the hell was I so nervous around Clear? When we got to the room I noticed that their were only six chairs set up."Uhm, where's everyone else's chairs?"Koujaku looked up. "Oh! Well, uh, the five of you are the only ones lucid enough to attend these meetings so it looks like it'll just be me, you, Mink, Ren, Clear, and Noiz.""That's right, there's only four other people in this ward and their complete fucking lunatics.""Oi! Beanstalk! What the hell did I tell you about not insulting the other patients?"Noiz mimicked a mouth talking with his hand with his hand. "Blah, blah, blah." He then proceeded to flip Koujaku off."You fucking brat! Don't you flip me off! I'll break that finger right off!""Okay everyone! Time for the group to start!" Clear stated cheerily. I was beginning to wonder if Koujaku was really the leader or if it was Clear."Woof!" I hadn't heard Ren speak, well bark, for a while now so it was rather startling to hear him so suddenly. I guess it snapped everyone else back to attention too because suddenly they all took a seat."Alright! What's on the agenda today?" Koujaku leaned back in his chair. He really looked less like a professional and more like a patient himself honestly.'Heh. Well then, it looks like it's high time I make my appearance to your new friends then, yeah?'"Oh god!" I shot up out of my seat, the whole room stared."Aoba-san are you alright?"I felt a major headache come on, not just any headache, THAT type of migraine. The type that signified HE was about to come out. I felt my control slipping."N-no! Gh! Ugh!" I collapsed to my knees. Shit, shit, shitshitshit. SHIT! I could only look on in horror as I lost control of my body.'Get the hell back in here! I swear to God if you don't let me out right now!'I scoffed, why the fuck would I let him back out just as I finally gained control? Of course I'd let him have control back soon enough but I wanted some fun first, dammit! "Quit your bitching!" I turned to the group in front of me. "God damn your a fucking hot group of losers!" Every face in the room gaped except that man-tank. I guess they didn't expect their precious Aoba to spout something like that."Ah, ah! You must be Aoba-san's friend! The other Aoba-san!""First of all let's get a few things straight, I'm not Aoba's fucking 'friend' and secondly my name's not Aoba."The pierced brat cut me off. "Then who the fuck are you?""I was getting to that! Tch! The name's Sly Blue. Just call me Sly."The homo nurse was snickering."What the hell's your problem!?" Who the hell was he to laugh at me!"S-sly! Hahahaha! Sly Blue!? What are you, some kind of damn detective? Hahaha! Ahahahaha!""Not bad old man."Everyone was enjoying a good laugh at me, hell even the prison guy with the dreads was trying to conceal a smile! Well, everyone but the albino guy, he still had the same happy smile as he did in the beginning. Time to teach these guys a lesson to not fuck with me. I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt."Listen here, fucker! You fuck with me, I fuck with your face! Got it?" I shoved him back into his seat. The room went dead silent. There, that was more like it! In the next moment I found myself shoved against a wall."Well, I have no problem kicking your ass either!" That pierced brat had me pinned!"Big talk for such a shrimp kid, huh?""Noiz-san! Sly-san! Stop fighting!" The albino guy, Clear, was hysteric. I felt myself lowered to the floor."Yeah well, it's been fun but I'm gettin' kinda tired. I'll let the lose take over now!" I slunk back into our mind and felt the wimp take back over.I felt another major headache as I came too. Jesus! That guy not only had to come out but also make enemies with practically every one here! I lowered my head instantly as I sat back in my chair."I, uh. I'm really sorry.""No worries, Aoba! We all get that it wasn't you doing that, right guys?" Everyone nodded at Koujaku's statement. "Alright, so anything else you want to talk about?" Clear launched into a large spiel about the cafeteria food not being nutritious enough and if they would only let him help with the cooking. The meeting went on for an hour, everyone straggled out. Everyone except Noiz."Hey, you okay?" He looked up."Yeah.""Wanna talk about it?""No."I sat on a chair across from him. I stared, I stared until he sighed."You're a persistent fuck, you know that right?""Mhm. Now tell me what's wrong?""...""Noiz.""Fine! It's just, today, when your other self came out. It reminded me of how I used to be. Before I came here. Talking shit and all that. It pissed me off."I smirked. "You mean you used to talk even more shit then you you do now?""Shut up." He was finally smiling. "Wanna know why I'm really here?" I nodded. "It's true that I mutilated myself. My parents were always so proud of my older brother. He was smarter and more talented. I was angry and jealous so I lashed out. Hanging out with gangs and shit. My parents just thought I was a nuisance. That's when I turned to piercing. The pain helped numb that empty feeling, the unwanted feeling. When that wasn't enough I started cutting. Mutilating myself 'til my arms were nothing but bloody meat. I thought my parents would finally notice me but I just became their 'freak son'. My parents own a large company and are well known so instead of having to deal with me they sent me here. Pretty fucked up, right?"I felt tears welling up in my eyes. The reason Noiz was so tough on the outside was because he was so fragile and alone on the inside. He wanted acceptance. I grabbed him into a hug."W-what the hell! What the hell's your fuckin' problem?" His words had no bite. After a while I felt two arms tentatively hold me back. We sat there for a long time before both of our asses got numb. We got up and headed out of the room together. As we were heading back to the common area/cafeteria Noiz stopped me."Hey. Thanks. For earlier. For listening." He was trying to hide the fact that he was blushing."No problem!"I just made a new friend in this crazy place...
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It had been two days since the whole Sly Blue incident. I made friends with Noiz, my first friend. Well, Clear was actually the first friend I met. Plus ever since that Wednesday everyone's been pretty understanding about my situation and is actually really friendly! (Well, everyone aside from Mink who hasn't really said anything to me aside from suspicious glares since...) It was only 2 pm but I decided that I didn't really feel like doing anything so I chose to take a nap, just as I was falling asleep I heard a rapid series of knocks on my door. Only one person was that frantic. I got up and opened the door...Clear.'God damn this guy! Why can't he just let me fucking sleep!'"Yeah, yeah. You'll get your sleep later."'Fucking bastard.'"Aoba-san! Hello! Am I bothering you? I can come again later if Sly-san wanted to sleep!" It was kind of eerie how Clear was so aware of every time I was talking to Sly. Although to be fair it wasn't that difficult to figure out.'Tell him to stop calling me Sly-san! It sounds fucking stupid!'"Oh, um, Clear. Sly says that you don't need to add the 'san'."'That's not what I said you fucking moron! Here I'm takin' over!'"Shit!" Another migraine was on its way and before I knew it I was locked again inside my own head.Finally, time to tell this, admittedly hot, loser what I really want! "Listen here, idiot," he cut me off."Clear!""W-what?""Clear! My name's Clear, Sly-san!"I was stunned that he knew it was me so quickly but only momentarily. Who the hell'd this guy think he was anyway! "Whatever! Anyway! Stop calling me fucking 'Sly-san'. It sounds fucking stupid!""Then what should I call you?""Uuuhhh..." This damn guy! Catching me off guard like that again! Well then! I'll just get him back! "You can call me 'Master', got it?" Huh! There, that should flustered him!'Oh my GOD Sly! W-what the hell!'Hmph! At least Aoba's flustered! Clear kept smiling, the smirk on my face MAY have dropped a fraction."Okay then, Master!"Shit! Fuck! Mother of God! Why the fuck did it have to sound so kinky coming out of his mouth! I could feel my face flush. I'm sure it was about a million times redder than it had ever been in my entire life."Master, what's wrong? Your face is all red, wuuaah! Don't tell me you're coming down with a cold?!""S-shut up! Talk to Aoba you little shit!" It's not like I was fleeing the situation or anything...NO WAY! I WASN'T! I was just sick of talking. Yeah, that's it...I could feel myself shoved violently back out of my mind. The headache I had was about three times worse than usual. I had never seen Sly so flustered. I snickered in spite of the pain in my head."Ah, Master?""Aaaaahhhh! No! Nonononononono! It's me, Aoba!" Crap! Clear calling me 'Master' was definitely not good for my heart!"Oh! Okay, Aoba-san! Are you alright?""Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Hey, was there something you needed?""Ah, yes Aoba-san! I was wondering, since it's Friday and that's the designated day that we're allowed to go outside, would you like to go for a walk out front with me?"'Getting the hell out of this stuffy, brain-melting, coma inducing dump? Count me in!'"Yeah, I'd love to Clear, thanks for asking." Maybe the fresh air would help my restlessness and calm Sly down too. The next thing I knew Clear had grabbed my hand and was yanking me outside. As soon as we got outside I realized that maybe I really did need the air...Wait, what the...Clear had slowed down and was now strolling down the sidewalk, which was totally fine, aside from the fact that he was still clutching my hand! On complete reflex I kicked him. Hard. In the ass."Oh, geez, shit! You okay, Clear? I didn't mean to! It's just you're hand and I...uh...Sorry..."Clear, whose hand no longer had a grip on mine, smiled sweetly at me."Oh no! It's fine! Aoba-san's just shy! It's okay!"I could feel my face burning. "I-I'm not shy!"'God damn this guy! I'll teach him a lesson! Uh, later though...'I almost burst out laughing. So the infamous Sly Blue didn't know how to deal with this embarrassing guy either, huh? Clear and I walked around some until he was distracted by a group of butterflies."I'll catch one just for you, Aoba-san!"I grumbled, how can one guy be so embarrassing? I wandered around a bit until I found Koujaku sitting on a bench reading a book. Wait, a book? This guy seriously didn't look like the type to read.'I didn't know homo nurse even knew how to read!'"Don't be rude..."Koujaku must have heard me mutter and looked up."Ah! Oh! Aoba!" He was clearly nervous.'I knew it! He's probably not even reading! It's probably some porn!'Koujaku jumped off the bench. In his haste whatever he was reading fell off his lap. I picked it up and couldn't help myself from reading the title out loud."Hairdressing Made Easy: 10 Ways to Love those Locks"?"Uh...It's not mine! I was holding onto that for someone else! Hairdressing is NOT gay!""Whoa, whoa! Koujaku calm down! I never said hairdressing was gay!""Sorry..." He sat back down and gestured for me to sit next to him, I did. "I want to be a hairdresser. Well I wanted to be a hairdresser.""Really? So what's stopping you?""My parents. My father wanted me to be a doctor so I went to med school and everything, but, I failed the entrance exam into med school. My father was furious and insisted I find some other alternative that still dealt with the medical field. I told him that I just wanted to be a hairdresser. My mom was proud and told me to follow my dream. My father told me he would, and I quote, 'disown a faggot son who was a pansy ass hairdresser'. So of course I listened to him and went to nursing school.""Wow...Uh, Koujaku, I'm so sorry. That's horrible...""Nah! It's totally fine! My dick of a father doesn't know it yet but I'm actually trying to apply for the position of barber in this ward!""Uh, but Koujaku, they don't have a position for a barber?""Exactly! I'll be the first one!"'Oh my God, what a fucking moron!'I just smiled."I think that's really great Koujaku! You should follow your dream!""Really!? Thanks Aoba! I...I will!"He got up with his book and walked away with an enormous smile on his face, he turned back to me."Thanks Aoba! You're really something, you know that?" He smiled and walked off. I think I just made a second, well technically third, friend in this place and I was learning more about everyone's backgrounds too. Just then Clear came running up to me."Aoba-san! Aoba-san! The butterflies were so much fun! Oh! But I didn't get to catch any for you." His face looked like a kicked puppy, god I couldn't stand when he looked so sad. I ruffled his hair."It's okay, Clear! I'm sure you tried your best!"He perked right back up. "Of course Aoba-san! Anything for you!" My face was on fire again, he was so embarrassing! "Ah! Aoba-san, you have a leaf in your hair!""Huh? Where?""I'll get it!"He gently slid his hand into my hair, caressing the top of my ear, it felt so sensual. I shivered."There we go. I got it!"I really couldn't stop myself, I kicked him in the ass for a second time that day...
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It had already been a month since I've arrived at this institution. I was getting used to the schedule and even enjoying some of the weekly games.'What the fuck!? You make it sound like this place is some kind of paradise!'"Yeah, well, it's not that bad...""What's not that bad Aoba?" Koujaku came and sat next to me at the plastic table in the common area."Ah! I was just telling Sly that this place isn't as bad as I thought it would be.""Well of course not! You've got friends here, Aoba! Tell Sly that if he really wanted to he could make some friends too!"'Oh God, can this guy get any gayer? He's gayer than me, which is saying something! And Jesus, what's up with the My Little Pony friends speech?'I gracefully ignored Sly. "Of course, I'll let him know."Just then Noiz walked up to us. "Hey.""Noiz. How are you doing?" I felt less intimated talking to him after I got to know him."Good.""Hey brat, what's with the one worded answers? Can't you answer normally for once?" Koujaku was just as friendly."Well what the fuck do you want me to say? I'm great Aoba! I just finished my cheerios and took a huge dump so now I'm feeling fan-fuckin'tastic!""SEE! That's just what I mean! You only give one worded answers and then when anything more comes out of your mouth it's just sarcastic!""Well sorry were not all as sociable as you, old man!""OLD MAN! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING AN OLD MAN! I'M NOT THAT MUCH OLDER THAN YOU BEAN POLE!"I gradually tuned their bickering out, used to it after hearing it for so long."Aoba-san! Good morning!"I smiled involuntarily at the sunny expression Clear always seemed to have. "Morning Clear."He turned to Koujaku and Noiz. "Having another fight?""Mm. Just another Monday..."Clear giggled and sat next to me.'How can a guy be so fucking dorky yet so fucking cute at the same time!? Dammit!'"I know...""Know what Aoba-san?"It was then that I realized that I had just sighed out 'I know' in the most dreamy sigh that could have rivaled any love-sick fool. I blushed to the roots of my hair. Geez, what the hell is wrong with me? Clear just wanted to be friends and here I am imagining his beautiful, long, slender fingers carding through my hair while those soft, plump lips caressed the side of my neck, then down lower and lower until..."Shit, shit, shit! No, Aoba! Get it together!"Clear chuckled. "Aoba-san's having another dilemma I see?""Uh, yeah. Kinda...A-anyway! What do you wanna do today?" I could hear the pitch of my own voice reaching the point of hysterical."Haha! Aoba-san's so cute when he's flustered!"I slapped him upside the head. "S-shut up, stupid!" Oh my god, I was totally gonna die from embarrassment if he kept this up."Hey, lovebirds, stop flirting!"I turned to Noiz. "We're not flirting!"Koujaku scratched the back of his head. "Well, yeah...You kind of are..."I just groaned and held my head in my hands. "CARDS! LET'S PLAY CARDS!" I suddenly shot up and yelled out. I just needed to get the attention off of me."Mm. Poker or gin?" Noiz looked the most interested I had seen him yet."Poker, that's the only game I know." Koujaku added.Noiz grinned cheekily. "Strip poker?"Everyone groaned but headed to the game room anyway where we played normal poker. Three rounds later and I was slaughtering my competition.'No, no, idiot! Are you fucking retarded? Get rid of that three and go for a flush!'"Alright, alright!""No fair! Aoba's got help!""Stop whining old man, it's not Aoba's fault you just suck!"Clear just laughed. "I really enjoy this game everyone! Even if I have no idea how to play!"Noiz snorted. "How is losing every single round fun?" Clear just laughed the snide remark off.I let my thoughts slowly drift. When everyone decided to call it a night I got up and went to head back to my room. As I was about halfway down the hallway the deepest and most likely sexiest voice I've ever heard called out to me."Aoba."'Oh shit, hottie alert! Turn around, turn around!'I turned around expecting to find some gorgeous male model. What I found was even more surprising, so surprising in fact I felt my jaw drop. Right in front of me was the last person I expected to see.Ren."Aoba, may I speak with you for a moment?""W-wha! Who? Where? When? Why? HOW!? Y-y-you can SPEAK!?""Well, yes Aoba. Contrary to my beliefs that I wish to be identified as 'canine' I am still physically that of a 'homo sapiens sapiens' thus enabling me with the ability of speech."I stood dumbfounded. Not only did Ren actually speak the way he spoke was so eloquent I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around it. "Uh, w-well, um...yeah?"'Wow! Good going! With that reply he'll totally think you're a fucking genius now!'I couldn't even think to reply to Sly right now. Ren pointed to a seemingly random door."If it wouldn't make you uncomfortable I would like to inquire if we may speak in my room for privacy?"'FUCK YEAH! Hottie taking you to his room? Yes Aoba! You better say fucking yes or so help me God I will take over and jump this guy for you!'"Uh, yeah. Sure?" What did Ren want to talk about? Why now? I mean of course I've been nice to him even though it was weird treating him like a dog at first, but I realized that even if he thought he was a dog at least he was a well behaved and nice dog? Okay, so maybe that sounds a little fucked up but hey he's a nice guy? Dog? Whatever! He's pretty cool! I followed him into his room where he softly shut the door. I should have been terrified being locked in a room with this guy I barely knew but for some reason Ren gave off this air of calmness that made me inexplicably trust him. I sat on the spare chair next to a plain desk while Ren took the bed. He took a deep breath before starting."I trust you, Aoba.""Huh?""I trust you. That is why I wish for you to know the real reason I am in here. It is true that I said I wanted to be identified as a canine but that is not the true extent of my inner feelings. I was not born with the feelings of wanting to be another species, it was the product of my upbringing that caused my current situation. Will you listen?"I was enthralled. I already found out about a lot of the others pasts but to hear about Ren? What caused him to wanna be another species completely? I nodded enthusiastically."I was abandoned. My mother died when I was five years of age, my father then turned to alcoholism. He couldn't pay the bills or take care of me so we were evicted from our apartment. My father was intoxicated most days, we were living on the streets. My father did not even notice when I wandered off. I eventually came to an abandoned building where the local stray dogs lived. I was accepted by the pack leader and was raised by them. I felt so betrayed by my father, by humans...I took to living like a dog. Eventually someone found me when I was eleven and I was sent to child services. I was sent here shortly after they realized that I would not give up my animalistic tendacies. I have been here ever since."I couldn't move a muscle. Ren's story was so heart breaking. I took a deep breath and forced myself over to Ren's bed. I took him in my arms and held on to him."A-Aoba! W-what are y-you d-d-doing?""YOU NEED A HUG DAMN IT! Besides, you opened up to me like that so we must be closer right?" He nodded and slowly returned the embrace. "Did you tell any of the others?""No, just you...""I think you should tell them. It might make you feel better...""Mm. Yes.""Wanna head out now?" Ren looked at me with an extremely apprehensive expression."Tomorrow?"I chuckled. "Yeah. Tomorrow."The next morning at breakfast I made the announcement."Ren would like to share a story with everyone and needs your upmost support, got it?"Everyone looked curious but nodded, I guess they didn't know how to interpret barks, woof and howls. Ren opened his mouth."I would like to share my reason for being here. I would also like to attempt to assimilate myself back into living like a human. Your support and help would be gratefully appreciated..."Everyone at the table shit their pants.
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"Morning Aoba!" Koujaku was as cheerful as usual."Mmm...morn-yuaah-ing..." Noiz was as sleepy as usual."It is a pleasant morning this time of day is it not? Please enjoy today's breakfast spread, Aoba." I still wasn't used to Ren speaking but I was glad he finally opened up.'Brings a whole new meaning to telling your dog 'speak'!' Sly was just as snarky as usual."Aoba-san! Good morning! Did you sleep well? I hope you did! Let's eat together!" And Clear was adorable as usual...Shit! No! Friendly! I meant friendly damn it!'God just suck it up already you big baby! The guys hot and he's totally into you! Just jump him already! What the fuck's your problem? Even I can see the two of you are completely fucking head over heels! God it makes me gag just watching you both!'"Liar, you're just as into him as I am!"'S-shut up! I, I am not!' Sly went strangely quiet. Could it actually be that both me and my alter ego fell for the same guy? Wait, no I didn't fall for him damn it! I pulled my hair and groaned. I guess the upside to being in mental institution is the fact that you can talk to yourself and act crazy and no one will look at you twice because, well, they're too busy talking to themselves to even notice you. I laughed out loud at my own analysis."Aoba-san's in such a good mood today, you're even laughing! You're so cute Aoba-san!""I'm not cute! Anyway, let's just eat already, okay?""Of course Aoba-san. I will watch what I say from now on..."I opened my mouth to voice my relief but Clear kept speaking,"I know how embarrassed Aoba-san gets when I point out all of his cute points!""I'm a MAN! I'm not CUTE!!!! You could at least call me handsome!""Oh, of course Aoba-san is handsome as well!""CLEAR!"Noiz suddenly groaned loudly, "Oh my god! The married couple's at it again! Tell them to take their flirting elsewhere, old man, I'm tired!""I'm NOT OLD, BRAT! Besides, you should be used to this by now.""I find their witty banter rather endearing. It is also a great study to delve into the inner workings of human relationships. Please continue.""God Ren, you're not helping! He's calling me cute!"The "argument" continued on as everyone was eating. I had my fork halfway to my mouth when I suddenly realized something."Hey, where's Mink?""I think Mink-san's still in his room.""How the hell does Clear know that?" Noiz looked genuinely curious."I check on everyone in the morning!"I was now thoroughly confused. "Check on?""Mm. I open everyone's door a jar and peek in on them to make sure everyone is okay! Mink-san was still in his room this morning and I haven't seen him leave so that must be where he is!""What the hell!? You come into our rooms when we're sleeping?!!!""Uh...Clear. You know that's, um, kind of weird and, uh, an invasion of privacy, right? If you keep doing that I might have to report it to head nurse Akushima .""..."The entire room went silent. "Who's nurse Akushima?""...""You don't want to know, Aoba. Pray to God you never meet him. He's the nurse Ratchet incarnate." Koujaku looked honestly frightened. Even Noiz had paled. I had never seen any of them so scared. Before I could ask anything else I noticed a huge lumbering figure headed our way."You!"I turned around and came face to face with a furious looking Mink."Ah, Mink-san! Good morni-"Before Clear could finish his sentence I felt myself lifted straight out of my chair and thrown onto the floor."It was you! You bastard!" He was on me before I had time to blink. Mink had one hand around my throat while the other forcefully yanked my hair."I should kill you right now!"Koujaku and Noiz jumped from their chairs and attempted to pull Mink off of me but Mink was nothing but pure muscle; batting both of them away like mere insects. Clear looked horrified and was frozen in place. Even as Koujaku and Noiz reattempted their futile efforts Mink continued speaking while choking me."I knew I recognized you! You bastard, you killed my family!"I had no idea what this guy was talking about! I saw my vision go fuzzy. I suddenly had an extreme headache and felt myself slipping away. Was this the result of lack of oxygen? Was I dying? Wait, no. Sly. Sly was taking control for me..."S-shut the fuck up and, guh, g-get off!" I could hardly talk with this fucking deranged sociopath choking me to death."Why? So you can kill again?"He tightened his grip. I fucking hated this guy! I tried clawing my way out if his vice grip. Ren had joined Koujaku and Noiz in the effort of getting the freak off of me, well Aoba, but apparently he was running on pure adrenaline which turned the guy into more of a fucking tank than usual. Out of nowhere I saw a flash of white and Mink went flying off of me with a right hook to the jaw."Don't touch Aoba-san or Master, or I will be forced to hurt you." There was a calm almost serene tone to Clears voice but his face was absolutely murderous. I felt a shiver go up my spine. Whether it was fear or arousal I don't know.'How can you feel aroused??? We almost DIED!!!!'I scoffed. Sometimes Aoba could be so fucking stupid, of course seeing the guy who chases you around like a puppy suddenly defending you was DEFINITELY hot!The homo nur-Koujaku, picked a stunned Mink up off the ground."You killed my family!"Everyone around me looked stunned. Shit."I know you've been pissed off lately but there's no reason to spout crazy accusations!" Koujaku was trying to pacify the guy but he still looked pretty crazed. I had no idea how the hell to get out of this situation so I did the first thing I knew I needed to do. I shut Aoba out.'Wait! Sly? Sly! SLY!!! Is this some stupid joke? Why the hell can't I see anything?' I was completely locked inside of my own mind. Usually I could hear, see, smell, feel and even taste everything Sly does while he's in control but for some reason I was shut out. I was stuck in a void of blackness and could only hear my own voice echoing back at me...I took a deep breath. "Alright, listen here ape-man, I didn't kill your fucking parents, okay?" Everyone let out a collective sigh, what the fuck, did they actually think I was going to confess to the murders like some fucking soap opera? "The only reason I, well Aoba, was there that night was because he was trying to stop the bastard that did kill your parents!""LIAR! YOU BASTARD!!! I'll KILL YOU!"I watched Koujaku pull something from his ugly red scrubs, suddenly Mink was slumping to the floor while Koujaku removed a syringe from Mink's arm."A sedative's the only thing that calms him down when he has a tantrum." Wow Koujaku, way to downplay a situation. The guy almost fucking kills me and you call it a "tantrum" like he's some fucking toddler."Noiz, help me carry this guy to his room.""Yeah, yeah, whatever." Noiz got up to help anyway, I wonder if those two are secretly screwing? Suddenly Koujaku turned strangely stern eyes on me."And you, don't go anywhere. We're all having a talk when we get back!"I felt strangely nervous. In the back of my head I could feel Aoba's panic but if I had to tell everyone the story there was no way in hell I'd let Aoba hear so I'd have to keep him shut out for a little longer. If Aoba heard the truth of how he got a second personality it might just give him another mental break down. Not that I cared about him or anything...As I was having my internal debate Koujaku and Noiz returned."Alright, so Mink's sleeping now. Time to tell us the whole story...the truth." Koujaku emphasized the word truth like I was some habitual liar or something. I may not be the most sociable of people but I don't lie!"Okay...so, you might not believe this but Aoba wasn't always an angel. In fact he was slightly jealous of his twin brother, Sei, so he acted out to get their parents to notice him-""Pffft. Yeah, right. Like I'd believe that!""Shut the fuck up and let me finish!" The pierced brat shut his mouth with a scoff. "So anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted..." Noiz rolled his eyes, "Aoba used to be an asshole. He'd hang out with the local gang and do stupid shit, I mean nothing really bad, just graffiting buildings and shit. Except one day he started hangin' out with these real shady guys. An ugly ass guy, Vial...Viral, no,no,no...VIRUS! Yeah, that was his name and his fucking ugly ass look alike, Trick or Trip or somethin'. Back to the point, these guys were worse then a gang, they were into some pretty heavy shit, like yakuza shit...""Why the hell didn't you stop him from hanging out with people like that!?""Koujaku is making quite a valid inquiry, Sly. Why did you not stop Aoba from making such a poor decision?""Yeah, wouldn't whatever Aoba do affect you? I'm sure going to jail isn't in your list of things to do..." I would have taken that brats statement as a joke aside from the fact that his face was completely stoic."Oh no! Don't tell me they imprisoned Master and forced Aoba-san to commit heinous acts!"I smacked Clear upside the head as everyone gaped."M-Master???" Koujaku could hardly speak.Ren just blinked."What kind of fucking kinky shit are the two of you into?" This time Noiz was smirking."All of you, shut the fuck up! This guy's a wierdo! A nut case! Whatever he calls me is his problem!""But Master, you told me to call you Master. Do you not remember? It was when..."I slapped my hand over his mouth so fast it made a huge clapping sound. "S-shut the fuck up! Anyway! Do you wanna hear this story or not?"The atmosphere took a somber turn and everyone nodded solemnly."Alright, so I couldn't protect Aoba even IF I wanted to because I didn't exist yet. So as I was saying those two yakuza shit bags decided they wanted to do something 'fun'. Aoba was a bad ass punk but he was still totally naive. It happened five years ago when he was seventeen and he followed along blindly. After they stopped in front of some house they pulled out a bag, Aoba started getting suspicious of what they were planning and completely freaked out when they pulled out lighter fluid. It was the middle of the night so no one was really around. Anyway these two douche bags doused around the whole house in lighter fluid...""Did Aoba attempt to apprehend these "douche bags"?""OF COURSE HE DID, BASTARD!!! I SAID AOBA USED TO BE A PUNK NOT A GOD DAMN MURDERER!!!""My apologies...""So, one guy held Aoba while the other lit the place on fire. Aoba was horrified, he could hear the screams of the family as it burned. Those fuckin' yakuza wannabe's laughed the entire time. The whole thing was traumatic. The son of the family was coming home from a party and came across the scene. He was so furious he pummeled Trip, or was it Virus? I don't know, it doesn't matter, he pummeled one of them to the ground, cracking his skull open. He was sent to the hospital in a coma.""And the other one?""He wasn't so lucky, the kid beat him so badly he died on the spot. Aoba ran for his life but the kid had already seen him. The guilt and trauma of having been apart of killing innocent people caused Aoba to block out the entire incident and his subconscious created me.""O-kaay. But what the hell does this have to do with what just happened with Mink?" Noiz gave me a confused glare."Are you fucking retarded or something? God dammit! Like seriously! The fucking kid whose parents were burned alive WAS Mink, idiot!"The whole room was dead silent."So, Aoba-san doesn't know any of this?""No, and if any of you really cared about him you wouldn't tell him either!"Koujaku broke the silence. "Well we have to at least tell Mink." I nodded, that was reasonable."Okay! So I'm gonna let Aoba back in control so you fucking morons better not fuck it up and say anything unnecessary, got it?""Master really does care about Aoba-san!""W-who the fuck said anything about caring?!"I was NOT running away when I gave Aoba control back suddenly...I could feel the throbbing in my head as I gained control back. What the hell was all of THAT for!? Everyone was staring at me in concern and Clear looked on the verge of tears."What's wrong with you guys? What happened?""N-nothing! I'm gonna go see Mink!" Koujaku got up and hurried out."Y-yeah, I should too." Noiz scratched the back of his head and scrambled off."I shall also assist them." Ren walked off calmly. Clear took my hands in his."Aoba-san, if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you."I blushed, his face was mere inches from mine and kept getting closer and closer until..."Aoba Seragaki? Visitor!"After the nurse spoke I was jolted back to reality. I've never sprinted so fast in my life.
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I nervously sprinted to the nurse's station, desperately telling myself I was not trying to escape my non-existent romantic feelings for Clear.Okay, moving on! So when I talked with Sei on my last weekly call he had said he would visit me, but my twin was currently at college and would visit next spring break so it couldn't be him. My parents were both...'Douche bags?'"No Sly, they're not douche bags. They're busy with work...I think..."'Yeah, see? Total douche bags! You don't even know where the fuck they are and they're the ones who left you in this dump in the first place!'Okay, so maybe Sly did have a point THIS time. Anyway, if it wasn't my brother or my parents...Mizuki? Naw, he was busy setting up his own tattoo shop and promised to visit with Sei. So who else did I know? I froze on the spot."Are you Aoba Seragaki?"I nodded slowly. No way, it couldn't be HER could it? I was suddenly very, very nervous. Nervous but excited. I mean this was one of the few people in my family besides my brother who I actually got along with how couldn't I be excited? The visitor's door opened."I suppose I'm glad to see you're still alive, ya damned brat.""Granny!" I ran over and attempted to hug her. She pushed me off."Yeah, yeah. Enough with the sappy shit, how've you been?"My grandmother seemed harsh and crass but deep down I knew she cared in her own way, otherwise she wouldn't even be here visiting me."I've surprisingly been pretty good, Granny!""Stop bullshitting me, kid.""No, no! Really! I've even made some friends!"She gave me a skeptical look but grumbled and followed along anyway as I brought her to introduce her to my new friends. Mink was still cooped up in his room but the other four were waiting at our usual table in the common area."Granny, this is Noiz, Koujaku, Ren and at the very end is, C-Clear." I blushed as I stuttered at Clear's name. What the hell's wrong with me?'You're a fucking moron, that's why!'"I'm not a moron..." I tried muttering as quietly as possible but Granny still turned to me."Is that punk assed bastard still bothering you?"I smiled. "Nah, don't worry about it Granny. Sly's really not bothering me, in fact I think I'm actually starting to get used to him."'W-what the the fuck! Don't start using those cheesy ass lines on me you fucker! Now you get all emotional, next thing you know you're gonna want to have a heart-to-heart, right? Well guess what? Not gonna happen! Start thinking with your head dumb ass instead of your ass!'I choked on my own spit. Everyone fretted over me with varying levels of concern. After I finally calmed down and saved myself from asphyxiation I turned to answer everyone's concerned faces."D-don't worry about it, just Sly being, well, Sly."Everyone seemed to expect this answer and sighed in relief."Anyway, everyone this is my grandmother, Tae. Granny, these are my new friends!"Granny looked over them intensely."Hello! It's very nice to meet you! I'm the nurse in charge of this ward, my name is Koujaku." Koujaku gave Granny one of signature flirtatious smiles. She scoffed at him."Don't you try hitting on me. If you think being flirty will win brownie points you've got another thing coming! Besides everyone here probably already knows you bat for the other team so no use in pretending!" Koujaku paled. I guess he wasn't expecting for Granny to be so crass. Noiz snickered which was probably a bad idea because Granny turned to him next."Who the hell do you think you are?""Noiz.""Don't talk back to me you cheeky brat! Listen here, ya look like a little punk so don't be hanging around my grandson and being a negative influence on him, got it? He's had enough trouble as it is he doesn't need any more. So shape up or ship out!"Noiz looked stunned, apparently he's never been told off before. Next Ren came up to Granny and bowed towards her respectfully."The name by which I am known by is Ren. I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, Tae-sama."Granny hummed her approval. "No need for bowing or anything. And there's no need to call me 'sama' either." She sounded grumpy but I could tell she was secretly pleased. Lastly Clear made his way to the front of the group shyly and bowed to Granny timidly."Tae-san, it is very nice to meet Aoba-san's grandmother. My name is Clear, um, if there's anything you need help with to make your stay more enjoyable then please don't hesitate to ask!" Clear ended with the most dazzling, charming and shining smiles I've ever seen come from him. I could have sworn there was even flowers and sparkles and shit around him. Everyone in the room including me and Granny blushed."I'm old, not dead...besides I can do things for myself!...but thank you..."I almost died for a second time that day, Granny actually said thank you to someone."Granny, you never say thanks to me!""Shut it brat! Maybe I'd say thank you if you weren't such an ingrate!" I huffed but didn't say anything further. Granny's words had no bite to them so I could tell she wasn't serious. She never was.The next few hours were spent playing gin, which of course Granny won every single round. It was getting late so Granny decided it was time to say her goodbyes."I had a really good time today, Granny! Thanks for visiting!" I gave her a hug to which she grumbled at but returned regardless. It was her turn to say her goodbyes to the rest of the group."You, Noiz. Don't get Aoba into trouble!" Noiz nodded solemnly, apparently Granny had made herself a sort of parental figure for Noiz. "Ren...nice to meet you. See you again." Ren bowed politely."I am very eager to meet with you again, Tae-sama. Please have a safe voyage." I could have sworn I seen Granny smile. I guess she really liked Ren."And YOU!" She pointed an accusing finger towards Koujaku. "If you're gonna hang around Aoba then at least keep it in your pants!" Koujaku blushed about a hundred shades of red and could only sputter incoherently. Lastly Granny turned to Clear."Take care of him, okay?" Clears entire face lit up."Of course, Tae-san! I planned on doing so already!""Okay! Okay! Party's over, time to go home!" I was just trying to get Granny home so she could sleep at a reasonable time and NOT trying to save myself from embarrassment, thank you very much! I hugged Granny good bye one last time. Sly had been strangely quiet the entire time, usually he'd be talking up a storm. Something must be bothering him. I'd definitely talk to him about it tomorrow. As I headed to my room Clear called out to me."Ah! Aoba-san!""Clear?""I just came to tell you good night.""Oh, well then. Good night, Clear." I smiled. Clear was such a good guy. Suddenly his face became serious."And I also want you to know I intend on making good on my promise to Tae-san. I will take good care of you, Aoba-san. I'll take care of both you and Master."And then before I even had time to say anything a set of baby soft lips pressed gently against mine. My entire body went numb and just when I thought I would collapse they were gone. Clear's sunny, cheerful smile was back I place."Good night, Aoba-san!"I stood absolutely dumbfounded as I watched him walk to his own room. As I opened the door to my room I pressed my finger tips to my lips. I had just lost my first kiss.
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I was trying to fall asleep but all I could think of was Clear's kiss.His lips were so soft, warm and tender against my own. I rolled from my left side to my right for the hundredth time that night. If Clear had kissed me any longer I definitely would have fainted; anything beyond that and I'd die.'Geez, it's not like you're some damned virgin ya know?'"Yeah, yeah, I kno- wait, WHAT!?"'Pfffttt. Relax Saint Aoba, I'm just fucking with you. You're still a virgin in every sense of the word. I never did anything with anyone whenever I've controlled your body. In fact you should be fucking thanking me! Do you know how many creeps I've had to beat down? Apparently you've got a hot ass. Of course mine's WAY hotter than yours!'I couldn't help but laugh at that. "We've got the same ass you moron!"'W-what? No way! I clench my ass cheeks together so it looks totally different! It's all firm and round and shit! Way hotter than your saggy grandma ass!'I was doubling over in laughter by now. "Oh my GOD! No way! You seriously clench your butt cheeks together? Haha! That's just, pffftt, like, hahaha, seriously! Oh god Sly, you're too much!"'Shut the fuck up! Y-you'll be thanking me when you're 40 and you're the only one without a saggy ass! No, wait! I mean I'M the one without a saggy ass! God damn it! Just shut up Aoba!'I giggled softly to myself for awhile longer. At least Sly seemed a little more lively and normal from how he was this afternoon. I was starting to realize that Sly wasn't just a part of me, he was actually a part of me that I liked. If some doctor told me he had a cure for me and could take my second personality out of me I'd turn him down in a heartbeat. Sure Sly was loud and obnoxious sometimes but he was ME. I kinda see him as a twin brother, well not my actual twin like Sei, but, pretty damn close. I smiled."Good night, Sly."'Don't be getting fucking sappy on me!....'As I was starting to fall asleep I heard a quiet,'Good night, Aoba.'The next morning I woke up utterly exhausted. I had barely slept at all since Clear had kissed me. I spent most of the night thinking of what it could have meant. Of course my first initial reaction was that Clear liked me back the same way I liked him, but then I started questioning whether he was just being friendly or not. Then again he did say he would protect me so that had to count for something, right?'You're such a dumbass! Do you go around making out with everyone you see?'"We didn't make out! Besides, Clear's different."'You make him sound like he's either a whore or just fucking loony.'"I didn't mean that! I meant he's different from other people. He's special!"'Pffftt! You're making your case worse Aoba. What are you, his mother? Oh my dear precious son Clear is just so special!'"Sly, I swear to god..."I couldn't finish my thought before I was interrupted by a head of fluffy white hair practically in my mouth. Clear was hugging me, his hold more like a death grip though."Good morning my dear Princess!"I heard raucous laughter coming from my right. Noiz was uncharacteristically doubled over in a fit of giggles with tears streaming down his face."Oh my god! Just when I thought you two couldn't get any fucking gayer, he has to up and call you 'Princess'. Fucking PRINCESS!!!!"I wormed my way out of Clears arms. "YOU, stop fucking laughing! And YOU!" Clear looked at me with the upmost innocent expression. "NEVER CALL ME PRINCESS AGAIN!!!"I emphasized my point with a smack to the head."Ow, ow, ow! I swear, I swear! I'm sorry Aoba!""Ah, so our little gay couple are at it again I see!"Noiz snorted. "Oh please! You're the fucking gayest here out of all of us! You wanna be a hair dresser for Christ's sake!"Koujaku's face was as red as his scrubs. After I talked to him he built up the confidence to tell everyone in our little group about his dream and was met with everyone's approval. Of course that didn't mean that Noiz didn't call him out on it every now and then. If I didn't know any better I would have thought Noiz actually had a crush on Koujaku."O-oi! You fucking brat! It not a hair dresser it's a barber, BARBER!"I snickered quietly. Thankfully all of the attention was off of Clear and I while Noiz and Koujaku went at it. Ren walked into the the room almost silently."Aoba and Clear. Pleasant day, yes?""Aside from all the married couple bickering then yeah, it's pretty good!" Clear smiled at my response."But Aoba-san, we were just 'married couple bickering' a few moments ago as well.""Cleeear!"Ren just kept smiling politely until everyone calmed down enough to actually get breakfast. I was just finishing my, admittedly pretty shitty tasting, bagel when a huge figure lumbered into the room. It was Mink. Shit. What the hell was I going to say?'Scratch that. I think what you mean is how the fuck are you gonna escape!'I didn't even have enough time to reply to Sly before a pair of cold eyes locked onto me."You..."I froze."Get Sly."Huh? Why'd he want to talk to Sly?'Just let me go, Aoba.'Sly sounded strangely somber."Am I going to lose all control again?"'...Yes. It's important...'I knew that Sly was a sneaky trouble maker but I also knew that he had never lied to me. I sighed but trusted him. If Sly said this was important than it was. I closed my eyes and felt the same headache I always got when I switched with Sly. As Sly passed me I thought I heard him mutter something. I was left alone with nothing but darkness surrounding me. Hopefully Sly's conversation would be quick, I hated this place. I thought back to when I thought I heard Sly mutter. I could have sworn he had said 'sorry' but why? It must have been my imagination...I opened my eyes. I was half hoping Mink would have left but no such luck, the fucking mountain still stood in front of me."Finally get the stick out of your ass? Then again with the level of dickness you displayed yesterday I'd say it was the whole fucking tree up there!""Why you!"Just as Mink lunged towards me Clear stepped in between us. I guess the asshole had enough of getting his ass kicked so he backed off."You will NOT hurt Master, understood? You will have a normal conversation with absolutely NO fighting today!"Mink grumbled but seemed to calm down. God, Aoba's really gotta make it up to Clear. This is the second time he's protected us so that totally deserves at LEAST a handjob! I glanced around the room. At the horrified expression on everyone's face and the mortified expression Clear wore I guess I said that out loud."Clear's hot and I owe him, sue me."Everyone looked away awkwardly. Clear blushed the most enticing shade of red I'd ever seen and cleared his voice."Um, anyway, back to business! There will be no harming anyone, period! Alright...so... please continue...""I would like to speak with Sly alone."Koujaku stood up this time. "Absolutely not! I won't have you murdering Aoba even IF he's Sly right now!"I shook my head. "No, it's fine. Everyone gaped."Sly, are you certain you feel safe?" Ren looked at me with concern. Whether he was worried about me actually or just about Aoba I wasn't sure."Master will talk to Mink-san over there!" Clear pointed to a table on the other side of the room. It was far enough where we wouldn't be heard but clearly still within view. I smiled slightly. At least somebody actually cared about me...shit, no! Now I was getting as sappy as Aoba, dammit!"I can agree to that." Mink nodded solemnly and went to go sit. I followed. After we were situated Mink started."I don't like you.""Tch. Understatement of the century.""I don't trust you.""Well no shit!? I thought you always choked guys you trusted ya know? Like some kind of initiation thing or something.""But I remember.""Huh?""That night my family was killed. I remember their faces, the other two. They looked excited, like killing someone gave them a thrill. But the more I remembered the more I realized your- no, Aoba's face wasn't like that. He didn't look happy or excited, he looked terrified. I don't believe he actually wanted to do any of that.""...Why the hell do you think Aoba was traumatized enough to create another personality?""So that's why you're here. It makes sense. At the time one of the guys was actually holding Aoba down so...""Well, glad that's all cleared up! Oh and I'm pretty sure you already know this but this whole story is to remain secret from Aoba."Mink nodded. "I still don't like you...""Yeah, yeah. This isn't a fucking popularity contest, like I care." I could have sworn I seen Mink crack a smile. We made our way back to the group where everyone was waiting anxiously."We're cool now! No worries!"Mink nodded. Seriously did this guy speak? Our conversation a minute ago was the most I heard him speak the entire time I've been here. I rolled my eyes and gave control back to Aoba.I felt my usual headache. I blinked my eyes as I took in the sight in front of me. Everyone was sitting at our usual table. I had no idea why but after Mink and Sly's talk everything seemed a little lighter. We all chatted, well aside from Mink but that was no surprise, until it was time for a scheduled activity of our choice. Just as I was headed to find something to do I felt a hand on my shoulder."Thank you..."I was totally confused. Mink had just stopped me and THANKED ME???"F-for what?"Mink smirked. "Sly will know."I stood with my mouth open like a complete idiot for five whole minutes before I decided to actually move. I had some serious questions for Sly...
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
I was laying awake in bed wondering how to start the conversation I wanted to have with Sly or even the questions I wanted to ask.'Are you fucking retarded? You do realize that I'm literally in your mind so I can hear everything you're thinking, right?'"Damn it! Why can you shut me out but I can't shut you out?"'Because you don't have enough control over me. I'm stronger mentally so I can shut you out when I need to but you can't do the same because you're thoughts are too fucked up!'"That's not true! You're probably just don't want to 'cause you want to protect me from something but I can't protect you because you don't need it." Sly was dead silent. "Ha! I knew it! Spill! What's everybody been hiding from me?"'I can't tell you...'"Does it have something to do with my accident? I mean, I know a car wreck is pretty traumatic but to the point that nobody will tell me anything aside from the fact that I crashed Mizuki's car? Shit! I didn't kill someone did I? I did, didn't I? I killed someone in the yakuza and now they're after me right? RIGHT!? Oh, fuck! That's why my parents sent me here, to protect me from the hitmen. I'm a target and if I ever get outta here I'm dead, right?"'Shut the fuck up, idiot! The fucking yakuza aren't after you. God, you're so fucking stupid! Why would the yakuza want your sorry ass anyway?'"Fine. If it's not the mob or something then what is it? What's everyone hiding from me? I could tell as soon as I was let out of the hospital for my psyche evaluation everybody's been hiding something from me! So I wanna know what it is!"'You've never wondered why you were never injured in a devastating car wreck? A wreck so bad it left you traumatized and with a second personality?'"The doctors told me I was lucky and was able to escape without injury..."'You over-trusting bitch...'"Why...? Sly, you know don't you? What really happened?"'...'"Sly!"'I can't tell you. You'll break...again...'Again? So I was mentally broken? But I don't remember it...'Forget it. I didn't say anything! Goodnight!'I sighed and closed my eyes. I felt myself drift back into my mind, into that dark lifeless place, the place where Sly lived. I caught sight of him sitting in the middle of the void. I concentrated and the scenery shifted into a beach.'Ha, nostalgic, huh? You and your brother used to come here together all the time.'I smiled. "Yeah." I walked over to Sly and sat next to him.'So what the hell do you want?'"Can you really not tell me? About my accident I mean?"'...'"Please?"'...It wasn't a car accident.'"So what kind of accident?" Sly looked reluctant to tell me so I nudged him.'Aoba, if I tell you, IF I tell you, promise me you'll find someone to help you through it? I mean like, go to your friends and talk about it. It's not something you'll be able to deal with by yourself especially if your memories come back, which they probably will...and I...' Sly mumbled something else that I couldn't understand."What was that last part?"'...I SAID TO GO TO CLEAR GOD DAMN IT! HE'S THE ONLY ONE I TRUST TO TAKE CARE OF YOU AND I NEED YOU TO BE SAFE BECAUSE WELL, well...it's not like I care about you or anything...'I wrapped my arms around Sly. "You're such a tsundere!"'S-shut up! So are you!'"W-what? No way! I am not!" We both looked at each other until we started giggling. Our snickers turned into full blown laughter. After we ran out of breath and our ribs were killing us I turned towards Sly and rested my forehead against his. He closed his eyes and so did I. "Will you tell me the truth tonight?"'No.'I gave a frustrated sigh. "Will you tell me someday?"'...Yes.'"Good." I was glad that Sly was willing to tell me the truth even though it frustrated me that he didn't think I was ready yet. We've both established a lot of trust with each other over the years so I knew that Sly wasn't lying to me, he would tell me eventually.'You won't be able to get up in the morning, lazy ass. So get outta here and get to bed!' There wasn't any malice in Sly's voice, there never really was."Yeah, yeah...goodnight Sly." I hugged him close before standing up. Just as I turned to leave Sly grabbed my hand. His face was turned away from me but I could have sworn I seen a hint of a blush dusting his cheeks. He squeezed my hand.'...Goodnight, Aoba...' His voice was so quiet I could barely hear him but I did, and that was all that mattered.I woke up the next morning to a pounding headache. I had spent most of the night crying and laughing with Sly before he really threw me out the second time telling me I needed some sleep. I yawned and lumbered towards the dining area, not even caring I was still in my pajamas. Not that it really mattered seeing as my pajamas were a t-shirt and sweats and the required "uniform" of this place was, well, a t-shirt and sweats. I thought no one would notice. I was wrong.Noiz whistled at me. "Looking sexy, Sleeping Beauty.""Shut up." I was so tired I could only mumble. Mink smirked, at least I guess he was getting more expressive lately."Aoba-san looks so cute in his pj's!" I could have sworn Clear's eyes were sparkling."Are you feeling abnormal this morning, Aoba?""Nah, just didn't get much sleep last night."Koujaku looked at me seriously. "I know it's against the rules but if you need an extra hour or two of sleep I'll cover for you, okay?"'The old man probably needs to get you outta the room before he pops a boner just by seeing you in your pajamas.'I was about to argue with Sly and tell him that was most definitely NOT the case until I noticed that Koujaku did look rather red in the face. Well shit."You know, I might actually take you up on that offer. Thanks!" I sent him a smile, it seemed his face got even redder.'Well, looks like we'll be getting whatever we want from now on!'"Sly, that's immoral."'Buuuuut true!'"Fine, it's true..." I wasn't trying to be bad but the thought of getting more hours of sleep at least once a week was a very alluring thought. I scarfed down my breakfast while chatting with everyone. Once everyone was finished and headed to their respective locations I went back to my room. I couldn't have been resting for more than 20 minutes before my door opened."Aoba-san are you asleep?"I rolled over groggily. "Not yet..." Truthfully I had just been falling asleep and Sly was already passed out."I'm so sorry to have bothered you Aoba-san! I'll leave right away! I'm sorry! Please excuse me!"I had no idea what was wrong with me, maybe my mind was still sleep addled because the next thing I knew there were words that on any other day I'd be mortified to say coming out of my mouth, "Wait! Stay with me...""A-Aoba-san!" Clears face was bright red but he sat down next to me anyways."Mmmn. Lay down.""Y-yes!" Clear clumsily yanked his slip on shoes off and crawled underneath the covers. I scooted closer to him. We were lying face to face now. I stroked the side of his cheek gently, smiling. My eyes were half shut with sleep but I could still see his beautiful face."Beautiful." I murmured."No Aoba-san! You're the beautiful one!"I really must of been more tired than I thought because instead of getting angry or embarrassed I just smiled and brought my lips to Clear's. I pecked my lips against Clear's once then twice before opening my mouth slightly to leave open mouthed kisses. Clear responded enthusiastically. He pulled me closer, one hand cradling the back of my head while the other draped over my waist. I wished I could touch Clear more but both my hands were pressed against his chest effectively trapping them. I compromised by opening my palm and feeling his heartbeat. Clear pulled my lower lip into his mouth, gently suckling it."Mm. Clear, I-"I was rendered speechless when Clear's tongue slid into my open mouth. He licked slowly and gently, exploring every part and trying to figure out what felt best for me. My heart was pounding furiously, I was afraid everyone outside the room could hear it. Our legs intertwined together as Clear deepened the kiss further, tilting his head to get a better position. The kiss was slow and gentle but I could still feel the passion in it. It felt so good I was getting dizzy. Clear suddenly pulled back. He smiled at me then gave me a few quick pecks; one to my lips, one on each cheek, one on my nose which made me giggle and lastly he finished with a kiss to the forehead."You're tired. You should get some sleep.""Mhmm." I yawned. I really was tired."Goodnight Aoba-san. I love you.""Mhm-" My eyes flew open while my heart stopped. Did he just say? "You, love me?""Of course Aoba-san. I love you."It took a few minutes but my heart finally slowed down. I looked down, my face completely red and burning hot. "I love you, too." I mumbled lowly but I was sure he heard me by the pleased hum he made. Then he pulled me tighter into his arms. We were so close I felt as if we'd fuse together. Strangely it wasn't uncomfortable. I shut my eyes and slowly drifted off to the sweet sound of Clear's steady breathing.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
I woke up to a strange warmth and the feeling of being cramped in my bed. I cracked my eyes open. I could see red, orange and gold staining my bedroom walls signifying sunset. I must have slept all day. The next thing I noticed was the body next to me...Wait, WHAT?! There was a fucking body in my bed!! I kicked the person out of my bed, it was then that I heard a groan.'You fuckin' moron, who the hell kicks their boyfriend out of bed?'All of a sudden a fluffy head of white hair popped up from the side of my bed. "Good evening, Aoba-san! Did you sleep well?""Yeah. Yeah I'm fine but...what about you? Are you okay? I didn't mean to kick you, I was just startled..." I was so embarrassed I wished Sly would trade places with me."Oh! Of course Aoba-san, I'm fine! I understand if you haven't woken up with someone next to you before of course it would be a frightening experience!""Yeah...Hey! Wanna grab some dinner?" I glanced at the clock, it was 6:15. Shit, we missed it, but Koujaku did say he'd cover for me maybe that included food? Clear must have read my thoughts."We could always see if Koujaku-san saved any leftovers for us!"'SHIT!!! What if he really CAN read minds?' Sly was apparently very worried and I kinda agreed. I had thought some embarrassing things about Clear that he'd be better off not knowing.Clear chuckled. "No Aoba-san, I can't really read minds."I froze. "Wha-how!?""Your face gives you away, it's cute!"I could feel my face heating up to a million degrees, I could only imagine how red it was."S-shut up! I'm a man! I'm not cute!""I know, Aoba-san's a man. A very handsome man!"I turned away from him. How could he say such embarrassing things with such a straight face?"I-" I couldn't even finish my sentence damn it! Clear got back onto the bed sitting next to me."A-o-ba-san." He called out to me in a sing-song voice. Strangely it didn't sound teasing or condescending in anyway, just affectionate."What?" I put my head down and mumbled. I felt the palm of Clear's hand slide onto my cheek. He then lifted my head until I was at eye level with him."I love you."I tried turning my head to the side but Clear's grip on my face held steady. I sighed. "I, uh, l-lo-love," I inhaled deeply. "ILOVEYOUTOO!" Clear chuckled."So cute." He murmured as he leaned in closer. I was about to retort but soon his lips were on mine. I sighed into the kiss as I threaded my fingers through his hair. God, how could one person's hair be so soft and fluffy yet silky all at once? Clear parted his lips in an attempt to deepen the kiss. I was just about to open my own mouth until I heard the click of my door being opened."Oh! Wow! Um, sorry!"I yanked myself away from Clear, shoving him away from me causing him to fall off of the bed for a second time today. I faced the doorway to find Koujaku and Noiz standing there. Koujaku was holding a hand to his his face.'Oh my fucking god! The homo nurse actually got a nosebleed watching the two of you make out! Holy shit, that's priceless!'"Well, I'd tell the two of you to get a room but we're the ones who just barged in so..." Noiz didn't say anything more and just walked away."I'll, um, just go now." Koujaku slunk away, hand tightly pressed to his nose."They could have knocked..." I was so mortified all I could do was mumble."Aoba-san, there's no need to be embarrassed! We are dating afterall."Dating. We had never really said it officially but between the kissing and the 'I loves you's' I guess we really were dating, huh? I looked back up then I crawled off of the bed onto the floor next to Clear. He didn't move a muscle but looked at me with a small smile. I scooted over until I was directly in his lap. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and buried my face in his neck."Mhm. Boyfriends." I buried my face deeper, how could Clear say such embarrassing things with a straight face?'Oh my GOD, Aoba! You ask that question every five fucking seconds! Just get used to it already!'Clear stroked my hair. "I love you, Aoba-san."His voice was so tender I felt like crying. I could feel Clear's neck getting damp, I actually was crying. Clear just hummed and placed a gentle kiss to the crown of my head. We sat like that for what seemed like forever until I had to ruin the moment by my stomach rumbling.Clear chuckled. "Are you hungry? Let's go get something to eat." I pushed Clear away, refusing to look at him. I was upset about ruining the moment but I was glad that Clear hadn't made fun of me.'That's because he's Mr. God damn Perfect!' Sly sounded sarcastic but I knew he loved him too. We headed out to the kitchen surprised not only to find food on the table but also everyone else. Koujaku spoke up first."I made everyone else wait to eat dinner, it just didn't feel right to eat without you guys. We're like some big dysfunctional family now so, well, you know, families eat together and stuff." Koujaku looked embarrassed."I have grown up on my own for the majority of my existence so the familial setting is much appreciated and I would be honored to call all of you my family." Ren looked determined, as if he would never give any of us up. That look made me happy."I'm so glad! Since my Grandpa passed away I haven't had any other family!""I wouldn't exactly consider you all family." Mink didn't sound like he hated us though so that was a plus. It was Noiz's words next that stunned everyone into silence."You're all a bunch of annoying shits. But it's, um, kinda nice. Having people who care about you. People who don't see you as some kind of freak. People who love you...a family..." Noiz ducked his head down, clearly regretting what he just admitted. That was when everyone attacked. Clear, Koujaku and I all tackled Noiz into a hug while Ren patted him on the head. Mink just sat there awkwardly, but I could tell he wanted to join in."Of course we love you, Noiz-san!""Noiz has helped me numerous times, I am very grateful for him.""Yeah Noiz, you're like a little brother to me!""You're definitely more than a brother to me."The room went dead silent."What the fuck do you mean I'm more than a brother to you, you shitty old man!?""N-nothing! God, nothing! I just got caught up in the good cheer and all that so I, uh, just said something stupid is all and like, I totally didn't mean it like that! Really! Um, no homo?"Noiz smirked, grabbing Koujaku by the back of the head and placed a firm kiss straight to his lips. The kiss lasted for almost a whole minute straight. When Noiz pulled away he smirked again."No homo, right?"Koujaku blushed. He looked around at all of our stunned faces before running of behind the nurse's station with his hands held in front of his face."Shit. I was just messin' with him but I guess he really is, huh?" Noiz didn't look disgusted, just contemplative. He almost looked glad or relieved somehow. I waited a few minutes before seeking Koujaku out. I found him cowering in the corner."Uh, hey there Koujaku. You okay?" I really sucked at consoling people.'Fucking move it!' Sly forced his way out."Yo! Homo nurse! Long time no see!" He glared at me. Whatever, it's not like I cared if anyone hated me or not. "Dude, give it up already. I'm gay, you're gay, Clear's fucking gay, Noiz fucking laid one on you ten seconds ago so I'm pretty sure he's not all that straight, Ren looks pretty gay and Mink? Well that guy looks like a fucking serial killer so no one wants to do him anyway so he doesn't count. Point is there's nothin' to be ashamed about!" I crossed my arms in defiance just waiting for his comeback. He sat there for five minutes straight before replying."You're right." He lifted his face and gave me a smile. "I need to accept and move on. I'm gay.""You're gay.""I am!""Congratulations, welcome to the homo club, he's your membership." I picked up an emergency hot line business card and a pen from the nurse's desk. I drew a pretty artistic picture of a dick on the back with the words 'Homo Club' written underneath then handed it off to Koujaku. He looked at it for a minute then proceeded to laugh. I was glad I made him happy and almost smiled, that is until he opened his fucking mouth."This is probably the most horrendously drawn penis I've ever seen in my life!""Shut the fuck up!" I slapped him upside the head.His laughter died down to giggles, he finally stopped and looked at me with a smile."Thanks, Sly. I mean it.""Tch. Whatever." I ruffled his hair. "Well, time to go back my job here is done. Oh, yeah. Aoba, you owe me one now, bitch!" I chuckled as I shoved Aoba back.I felt a small pain in my head as I was brought back. Who would've thought that Sly would actually be helpful?"Aoba?""Hmm? Oh! Yeah, it's me!""Oh, good. I wanted to let you know that when I looked at today's visitor log you had someone come for you. But since you were sleeping I let them know, they also left a note saying they'll be here tomorrow.""A visitor? Who?""Um...I think his name was Sei and there was another guy with him, uh, Mizuki?""Oh my god! That was my brother! You should have woken me up!""I'll remember next time, sorry."I sat down next to Koujaku and we talked about mundane things for a while."You can't avoid him forever ya know."Koujaku sighed. "Yeah, I know...""How about we go together?" He nodded at me. We headed back to the sitting room, everyone was still there. I sat next to Clear and Koujaku sat on my other side."You don't have to avoid me." Noiz was looking straight at Koujaku."Huh?""I said don't fucking avoid me old man! Sit next to me god dammit!"Ren looked up like he had a sudden epiphany. "Ah! I have seen this just yesterday! There was a television program in which the main protagonist was bullying the female in order to convey his affections to her. This must be the same situation Noiz and Koujaku now find themselves in!"Noiz blushed but didn't deny it."W-wait! Really? You LIKE me!?"Noiz blushed harder if possible. "Yeah! SO?! Ya got a problem with that you shitty old man!??""And if I don't?""Then GOOD!""FINE!""GREAT!"Koujaku got up and sat next to Noiz, both had their arms crossed but we're sitting noticeably closer together. I just smiled. Everyone talked and we FINALLY got around to eating, god was I starving. Pretty soon it was time for bed. Clear was about to give me my goodnight kiss when I shyly spoke up."You know you can just stay here, right?""Really!?"I nodded. "Yeah..."Clear ran off to his room and soon returned wearing a set of pajamas. I couldn't help but admit he looked adorable, his pj's were yellow with little purple jellyfish on them.'What a fucking adorable dork! Like, damn how can one guy be so hot and so fucking dorky at the same time?' I hummed in agreement. I had already changed into another set of sweats and a different shirt so I was ready for bed, too."Do you think we'll get in trouble, Aoba-san?""Nah, after I helped Koujaku today he owes me one. Plus I think everyone else will watch our backs too."Clear smiled. "Yeah, I think so too."We got into bed. I turned onto my side and Clear scooted up next to me, wrapping an arm around my waist. I thought I'd be too excited at the prospect of seeing my brother tomorrow but the warmth of Clear's body and his rythmic breathing had me drifting off to sleep.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
My eyes shot open. Today was the day my little brother and my best friend were coming to visit me. I squirmed out of Clear's arms, blushing for a moment when I remembered that he spent the night in my room, and made my way over to the calendar hanging on my wall. I couldn't believe that I had already spent 4 months in this place.'Seriously, we kinda need to get the hell outta here. I mean seriously Aoba you can't spend the rest of your life fucking knitting!'"It was crocheting, Sly, and it was for a therapeutic assignment so it was required, okay? It's not like I wanted to do it!"'So why'd you enjoy it so much then?'"Shut up..."I nearly had a heart attack when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist."Good morning, Aoba-san." The way Clear murmured into my ear sent chills down my spine."G-good morning!" He started leaving small kisses to the back of my ear down to my neck. "BREAKFAST! I'M HUNGRY! LET'S EAT!" I think I blew Clear's eardrum out. He pulled away slightly and giggled."Aoba-san must be very hungry to shout like that but first you have to get dressed, silly!""Right! Dressed! Will do!"I headed towards my dresser and pulled out my sweatpants and t-shirt. I was about to pull my pajama shirt off when I noticed Clear hadn't left the room. In fact he was staring straight at me."Um, Clear...I'm going to get dressed now."He smiled. "I'm know.""Yeah, so, uh, in order to do that I need to get UN-dressed first.""I'm know that, too." He stood still with a deceptively innocent smile on his face. I went past him and opened my bedroom door."NO! No way in HELL am I letting you stand there and watch me get changed!" I grabbed him by the shoulders and all but shoved him out."Awww! But Aoba-san you're my boyfriend and I haven't even seen you naked yet!" He gave me that stupid fucking adorable pouty face."No means no!" I emphasized my point by slamming the door in his face.'Who knew your innocent little boyfriend was such a kinky little shit!'I groaned and hung my head. How the hell did I end up with such a cute yet perverted boyfriend? I quickly dressed and opened my door to find Clear outside my room and surprisingly already fully dressed."Huh? How'd you get dressed and come back here so fast!?""I've always been good at being quick, Aoba-san! My grandpa was in the army so he did everything quickly and expected the same of me!""Was you're grandpa mean to you?" I was afraid to hear the answer. What if he was so cruel to Clear either physically or emotionally that it caused Clear to be afraid of himself because he looked like him?"Of course not! Grandpa was amazing! He was so funny and kind! He always had the best stories to tell, too! I loved my grandpa very much!"Clear gave me another one of his dazzling smiles. There was no panic or insincerity in his voice so I knew he must be telling the truth about his grandpa. Plus I don't think Clear even knew how to lie. He really did love him. So how did Clear get a fear of his own face?"A-o-ba-san! A-o-ba-san!" I blinked and looked back to Clear, he giggled. "What's Aoba-san daydreaming about so early this morning? Is it me? I hope it's me!"I smacked him upside the head. "I'M NOT A PERVERT LIKE YOU!"He sniffled at me. "So mean, Aoba-san! I'm not a pervert! I love you!"I could feel heat spreading from my face to the roots of my hair. "Yeah, well, I kinda, sorta...you know..." I mumbled the rest."Hm? What was that Aoba-san?""I said I love you, too!"He chuckled. "I'm glad Aoba-san loves me as well!"I grumbled but followed him into the dining hall anyways. There we ran into Koujaku and Noiz who were already seated at the table."Yeah, well I wouldn't be bitching if you got up and got my breakfast for me, shitty old man!""Listen here you punk, I'm not your slave! Get it yourself!""Fine then, I'll just eat yours!"Noiz reached over and stole a piece of sausage off of Koujaku's plate. I guess even after dating nothing between them had changed."I said get your own damn food, brat!""Yeah, yeah. We all know how much you love sausage. Just last night you showed me how much you love MY sausage.""Oh my god!" I guess things between them changed more than I thought. I tried to hide my burning face while Noiz smirked at Koujaku who was making noises that may or may not qualify for a dying hippo. Clear looked on innocently."But Noiz-san last night was lasagna not sausage."Noiz erupted into laughter. "Are-haha-are you kidding me? Pffft, do you not get it?"Poor Clear looked even more confused. Thankfully Ren and Mink decided to make their entrance, saving everyone from having to make any awkward explanations. Breakfast continued relatively pain free. Afterward everyone broke off into groups to find something to do. I was mindlessly trying to stack a deck of cards into a pyramid when I was thankfully interrupted by a nurse. I was three seconds from finding a lighter somewhere and setting those god damn cards on fire!"Aoba Seragaki?"I stood up. "That would be me!" I could feel every nerve twitching, was Sei finally here?"Ah, you have a visitor.""Yes!" I dashed to the visitor desk and saw Sei and Mizuki just finishing up with the sign in sheet."Sei!" I threw myself at him. "Oh my god, Sei, I've missed you so much!" Sei held me back."Aoba, I missed you too. I'm so glad to finally see you!""Aoba! What's up? How've you been?" Mizuki clapped a hand onto my shoulder."Good, I'm good. Hey I want you guys to meet the rest of the gang!" I dragged them into the dining room and made them sit at our groups "designated" table. Then I ran off to gather everyone. Unfortunately I found Koujaku and Noiz first. Noiz had Koujaku shoved up against the wall with his tongue halfway Koujaku's throat."Whoa, whoa! Um, yeah, sorry, I, uh, just wanted you to meet my brother, he's waiting in the dining area, but if you guys are too busy, um, yeah, no, nevermind!" They didn't even seem to hear me. I ran out there like my ass was on fire.'Oh my fucking god! That piercing brat was totally sucking homo nurse's face like it was a damn eating contest! And holy shit, Koujaku's moans sound like a fucking horny walrus! I am seriously relieved they don't star in a porn film, anyone who watched it would have to be into some pretty kinky shit!'"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! I didn't see that! It was a figment of my imagination!" Was this my karmic punishment for getting caught making out with Clear? I mean it was kinda hard not to get caught in a place with no locks..."Aoba-san! Why are you in such a hurry?"I ran into Clear on my way out of the horror film I was just in."Clear. It's you, thank god." I sighed in relief."Why? Did something happen?"I thought back to 3 seconds ago...no, god no, go further back! Further back!"Sei!" I winced at my own volume."Say? Say what, Aoba-san?""Huh? Wha- no, no. My brother Sei. He came for a visit and I wanted everyone to meet him!""Oh!" Clear giggled. "That makes much more sense. Well, let's go then!"On our way to the dining room we ran into Mink who reluctantly followed us. Just as I was about to ask where Ren was I heard laughter from Sei. Sei rarely laughed at home and NEVER laughed in public, it piqued my interest. When we entered the room I saw Mizuki and Sei on one side of the table with Ren sitting across from them, he was performing some kind of magic trick."Wow, Ren that's so cool!" Sei had a huge smile on his face and even Mizuki looked amused."No wait, dude how the hell'd you do that?" Mizuki grabbed the napkin from Ren's hand. I take it back, Mizuki was not amused, he was astonished. Mizuki looked up at me. "Aoba, this guy's a fucking wizard!"Sei gently slapped his shoulder. "Language.""Oh, yeah. Sorry" Mizuki looked sheepishly at the table."Mizuki-san, I regret to inform you that there are no persons by the name of 'Dude' in this vicinity.""Huh?"I decided to speak up. "Ren used to live with a pack of stray dogs, even now he still considers himself a dog, so please excuse him if he doesn't understand human slang."'Ren's the fucking furthest thing from a 'dog'. God he's fucking hot!'"You have a boyfriend dammit!" Everyone looked at me in shock. "Um...Sly..." There was a collective 'ah' of acknowledgement. Well at least everyone here knew I was crazy I guess."So who's the giant?" Sometimes Mizuki had no tact."This is Mink, one of the guys who lives here with me."Sei looked at me with a mischievous glint in his eye. "And who's the other person? Is this Clear?"I had told Sei all about my new...boyfriend, damn why was it so embarrassing to even think that?, over the course of our weekly phone calls."Yes, this is Clear." My face felt ready to combust."You must be Mizuki-san and Sei-san! I've heard many good things about the two of you from Aoba-san!""We've heard a lot of good things about you, too.""Really?! Aoba-san talks about me? I'm so happy! Aoba-san must really love me!""Oh my god, Clear! Shut up!" Why did I think this was a good idea? Oh yeah, I totally forgot how much Sei loves teasing me. After about 30 minutes of Sei and Clear making me want to dive into a hole with Mink saying absolutely nothing and Ren and Mizuki trying to console me, Noiz and Koujaku finally arrived. From there the party really started. Everyone was laughing and having great time until visiting hours were over. Mizuki was waiting at the door for Sei while we said our goodbyes. Sei and I shared a hug."Oh yeah! Before I forget I have a gift for you! I had to smuggle this in!" Sei laughed then got what suspiciously looked like a birthday bag from the visitor locker behind the nurse's desk and handed it to me. Smuggled in? I gave him a quizzical look but when he didn't give me anything further I shrugged it off."Thanks! Have a safe trip back to the dorm and I'll talk to you soon! Love you!"We hugged once more. "Talk to you soon, Aoba. I love you."It wasn't until later that night when I was alone did I look into the the bag. Inside was at least a five gallon bottle of lube and about a lifetime supply of condoms. Usually I loved my brother but right now was NOT one of those times.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
I woke up earlier than usual. It had been 3 weeks since Sei and Mizuki had visited and I almost forgot about the 'gift' Sei left me that I had shoved under my bed. Almost. I was surprised to see that Clear wasn't with me. We practically shared a room now due to the number of times he slept in my bed with me."Clear?"I groggily looked around and spotted him sitting by the window, gazing out. The window was open. I guess Clear didn't want to see his reflection in the glass. He looked deep in thought but returned to his cheerful carefree face as soon as he heard me. He quickly closed the window which I was grateful for, it really was freezing in my room. I noticed he didn't once look at his reflection, instead turning his head as he shut the window."Aoba-san! What are you doing up so early?"He sat next to me on the bed and ruffled my already messy bedhead."I could ask you the same thing. What's wrong? Couldn't sleep?""No, no, I'm fine. I just-" He looked down. "Nevermind, it's nothing."I grabbed his cheeks and forced him to face me. "Don't lie! Something's bothering you and I want to know what it is! So tell me!"He wouldn't make eye contact, looking everywhere but me. "Aoba-san I'm fine, I promise! I was just thinking is all."I looked at him skeptically. "Maybe you won't tell me now but I WILL get the truth out of you! But first..." I yanked him down by his shoulders until he was lying next to me in bed. I pulled my comforter around us both and layed on my side as I snuggled as close to Clear as possible, wrapping his arm around my waist. Clear took the hint and turned on his side to spoon me from behind. I could feel Clear's warm breath on the back of my neck."Aoba-san are you cold?""Mmm, no not anymore. You're really warm." I yawned.Clear giggled. "Aoba-san's sleepy, huh?""Yeah, and it's all your fault, too! You were up so early PLUS you had the damn window open!""I'm sorry. I wouldn't have opened the window, but...""Nah. Don't worry about it. I get it, windows are reflective and you're still afraid of your own face, right?"Clear hugged me tighter. "Aoba-san, I love you. I really, really love you."I blushed and squirmed. "Yeah. I love you, too." It came out as a whisper but I was sure Clear heard me if the kiss he left to the back of my neck was any indication. Clear wrapped his arm around me and began rubbing my stomach soothingly. "Stop that...I'm not a..." I paused to yawn, "I'm not a damn dog..." I trailed of as my eyelids grew heavy. I may be complaining but it really did feel good and was helping me sleep.'Pfft. I wonder if this is how Ren gets to sleep, too! Haha, are you sure you don't have misplaced identity and think you're a dog?'"Shwa-t uhp..." I must have been more relaxed than I thought to slur 'shut up' so horrendously.'Move the fuck over! I wanna see how good this shit feels!'I didn't even have it in me to complain when Sly switched with me."Shit...this feels better than fucking sex..."Clear chuckled. "Hello, Master!""Tch..how the hell..." I yawned, "did ya know it was me?""Well for one Aoba stiffens when he switches and vice versa and two both of your personalities are completely different!""Well of course are personalities are different!" I snickered, "Oh so Aoba 'stiffens' when we switch, huh?""Hmm? Yes...?" Clear seemed confused at what I was getting at."I mean he stiffens 'here'?" I shoved his hand between my legs. I heard him gasp then he flexed his fingers on reflex. I couldn't help the small groan that escaped my lips. I hadn't been able to jerk off for a while in this dump and the small amount of stimulus had me a quarter-hard almost immediately. Apparently Clear felt it too because he yanked his hand back stuttering,"MASTER! P-please don't tease meee! I didn't m-mean it l-like that! I meant his whole body tenses up!" He buried his face into my neck. I couldn't help but laugh."Yeah, yeah you big dweeb. I know what you meant!" I chuckled again when Clear huffed against my neck. It was silent for a few moments before Clear spoke up again. He spoke so quietly I could barely hear him."Master, would you like me to help with that?"I knew instantly what he meant and flushed. "W-what the HELL! NO WAY!!! Just leave it, OKAY!?? It'll go away on its own!!!" I didn't want to admit it but, well, I wasn't sure if I was ready yet. I mean yeah I'm totally hot and all but I grew up with a town of lowlife losers who were definitely NOT worthy of my greatness so I was kinda, sorta a, well...a virgin. But there was no way in HELL I'd tell anyone else! Only Aoba and I know and he's a cherry boy himself, so there!"O-oh...well, if your sure then...""Yeah, well...hey! Who said you could stop stroking my stomach, huh?"Clear chuckled. "Of course, Master." He returned to petting me."Mmm...feels...good..." My eyes were growing heavy with sleep once again. Thankfully my semi-erection was fading, too. Just as I was straddling the line of consciousness and sleep I felt a kiss to the top of my head followed by a murmured,"Goodnight Master, goodnight Aoba-san..."I woke up on my own. I opened my eyes to find my room. Sly must have switched with me while we were sleeping. I squirmed at the lack of heat on my back and turned to face Clear to ask him why he wasn't spooning me any longer only to find an empty space. I sat up quickly, too quickly if the the dizziness and black dots scattering my vision were any indication, and called out."Clear? Clear, where are you?" There was no answer, not that I was expecting one. My room was small and had no closet so I could obviously see he wasn't in the room, so where was he? I felt a slight panic. "CLEAR!?" I called out louder. Just then the door to my room opened and in the door frame stood Clear balancing a tray of food with one hand while the other was on the door handle."Aoba-san! You're awake! No fair! I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed but I wanted to be back before you woke up!" He pouted."Well you did surprise me. I was kinda worried. I had no idea where you went. Mmm, breakfast smells delicious and-wait! How'd you know I was 'Aoba' and not 'Sly'? Or were you just guessing?"Clear giggled. "Well of course I knew it was you, Aoba-san! I can tell by your eyes! You have soft, kind eyes while Master is more..."'What the fuck! This guy better not say I'm not kind! I mean I don't really care what he thinks about me, that's totally not it, okay? I just don't want anyone talkin' shit about me! I'm sooooo gonna beat this guy's ass in!'I smiled brightly, I was really glad Sly loved Clear as much as I did."Well, I mean Master is kind as well except his eyes seem a bit more, hmmm...AH! Mischievous! Yes, that's it! Master has a more mischievous gaze than Aoba-san!"'Huh, well, mischievous isn't a bad thing...I guess I don't have to kick his ass today...'I smiled but was actually impressed. If Clear could tell who I was based on what my eyes reflected then that must mean he watches me closely..."Wait, WHAT!??" As this revelation hit me I couldn't help but yell out loud. Okay, so maybe that wasn't actually the reason, maybe Clear was just really good at reading faces. "So, you're just really good at reading faces and stuff right?"Clear smiled brightly. "Not at all!"I felt my face heat up, so was it really because he watches me a lot?As if reading my mind he answered. "I'm just used to watching Aoba-san all day, especially you're face!""Oh my god! No, just forget I asked..." I tried hiding my embarrassment by stuffing my face with the waffles Clear brought me.After devouring nearly the whole plate, which I felt kind of guilty for seeing as Clear hardly ate any but reassured me he didn't eat much breakfast, I finally decided to question Clear again."So...this morning..." Clear started fidgeting. "Are you going to tell me what was bothering you? Why you were awake so early?""Aoba-san, please don't worry yourself over nothing! I'm fine!" He tried smiling at me but it didn't reach his eyes. I guess I'm almost as good at reading him as he is me."You're lying." He flinched at my severe tone.'Serves him right for lying! Bastard not gonna get away with making me worr-shit, no! I'm NOT worried! I'm pissed off this bastard's lying to me!'I would have to have a talk with Sly later, he wasn't fooling anyone with his 'I don't give a fuck' attitude. But that would have to be put on hold, Clear still wasn't talking. "Clear." I made my voice as stern as possible. Clear looked up at me and opened his mouth then promptly closed it. After several minutes, just when I was going to ask Clear if he wanted to forget the whole thing and do something else, he spoke."I was...thinking...""Thinking?"He nodded. "About my past..." He stopped mid-sentence."Do you wanna talk about it?"He nodded again. "Yes."I waited a while longer until Clear composed himself. He clenched his fists and nodded his head determinedly. "I close my eyes," I nodded to let him know to go on. He took a deep breath. "Whenever I walk next to something reflective, be it a window or even a pond I close my eyes. I'm afraid of what I'll see. That's how I got your bedroom window open, I closed my eyes and felt for it before I was close enough to see myself in it.""Clear, you said you're afraid of what you'll see? What are you afraid you'll see?""I'm afraid I'll see the same monster everyone else saw..."I sat utterly still, waiting for Clear to elaborate."My grandpa...I love him, even though he passed away a long time ago..."I took in a sharp breath. I knew Clear's grandfather had passed away but it still hurt me to hear it.Clear looked down, shoulders slumping. "...I love my grandpa because he was the only one who didn't see the monster everyone else did. My father, he wasn't mentally stable. My mother left us when I was four and then-"Clear got choked up and began sobbing. I inched closer to him and put my arm around him."It's okay, Clear. Take your time. What happened?"Clear nodded, snuggling closer to me."My father, he was distraught about my mother leaving that he went the city plaza and he ended up..." Clear choked on his tears again and curled up on himself. "He..killed...Aoba-san, he killed SEVEN people!" Clear broke down into sobs.I stroked his hair not knowing what to say. Before long Clear spoke again."Grandpa took custody after my father was taken away. I was so happy until one day, when I was six, I went out shopping with Grandpa.""Why?"Clear burrowed further into my chest. "Everyone in the town were terrified of me. They said that since I looked exactly like my father I would become a killer just like him. I started being terrified of my own reflection after that. Grandpa told me that I was my own person and I wouldn't ever end up like him. I didn't believe him so he gave me his old gas mask. He told me if I couldn't see a monster then there was no way I would become one. That was the only thing that helped me, I'll be forever grateful for that."I stroked Clear's hair, trying to calm him down."Shortly after Grandpa got sick and passed away. I didn't know where to go or what to do. I was found wandering the streets. I was only twelve so I was brought to an orphanage. When the caretakers found out about my condition and the fact that I wouldn't take off my mask I was sent here. I've been living here ever since..."I furrowed my brow. I was twenty-two and Clear was twenty-five, so that meant he was here thirteen years!?"Clear, you've been here that long?""Yes Aoba-san. But it's not so bad, I made a lot of friends here!"I smiled as I cradled him and kept stroking his hair. "Yeah, I made a lot of friends here, too. This place is called a loony bin but it's probably more sane than the outside world!" I chuckled. Apparently I cheered Clear up some when I heard a mix of a sob and a wet laugh from him."Yes Aoba-san. This place is much better..."We sat in silence for a long time before I finally asked Clear the one question I had always wanted to ask but was too afraid to."Clear...do you want to, maybe, only if you're up to it of course, but, well...maybe if I'm there for you and help you maybe you'd like to see your face someday?"I felt him tense up before relaxing then hesitantly nodding."Yes. If it's with Aoba-san then I think I can."He looked up at me and gave me a sweet and shy kiss. He looked down sheepishly and said,"Thank you Aoba-san. I love you."I held him close to me. My eyes widened in surprise when I heard the most sincere, heartfelt words come from Sly,'Yeah, we'll work together and get through this because...because I love you, Clear.'
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The next day was as uneventful as usual. I woke up to a good morning kiss from Clear then we lazed around until we actually got around to getting up and heading for breakfast. Everything was normal until Clear and I actually got our breakfast trays. The woman serving the food handed Clear his usual plastic utensils. Clear used plastic forks and spoons since they weren't reflective, that's when Clear looked up at her and kindly asked,"May I please have a regular set of metal utensils?" My eyes widened and apparently I wasn't the only one shocked because the woman dropped the plastic set of silverware, her lips slightly parted. She was a loud, nosy, somewhat irritating older woman but she always seemed concerned with the patients."C-Clear-san! Are you sure? I mean you've been using plastic ever since you've arrived here...""Yes, Yoshie-san. I am completely sure. Thank you for the concern, though."The usually probing Yoshie was so stunned she could only nod dumbly as she handed Clear a set of metal utensils."Thank you so much, Yoshie-san!" Clear smiled and waved as he walked away. I hurried after him while internally laughing about the completely awestruck look on the lunch lady's face. I thanked god that Clear had apparently shocked her so much that she couldn't go through her usual rant of "how cute" I was and stuff my tray with three times the amount she was supposed to. I usually mean it in a figurative way when I say the food tastes like dog food but with Yoshie on shift half the time there really was dog food in it since she always snuck her Maltese, Clara, into work with her and sometimes mixed up the dog's food with the patients."So Clear, why'd you decide on actual silverware today?"Clear looked pensive for a moment before switching back to his usual cheery manner. "It's because of our conversation last night, Aoba-san! I decided that if you were going to help me get over the fear of seeing my face then I must also make an effort. So I decided to start by changing my routine. I will consciously go towards reflective objects like metal silverware, the fountain in front of the building, and possibly even to my window when it's closed!""Wow...Clear, that's a really huge step. I'm really proud of you!"'FINALLY! The dumbass will finally get to see how hot a piece of ass he is!'I was in the midst of taking a drink of milk when Sly spoke. I of course promptly choked. Clear rubbed my back and asked,"Aoba-san, are you alright?""Yeah, I'm fine. Dammit Sly! Wait to say shit like that when I DON'T have a chance of choking on something!"'So calling Clear hot while you're blowing him is out of the question too I suppose?'I began coughing violently. "W-what the hell! We haven't even done anymore than just kissing! So why would I be bl- doing THAT to him!??"'Jeez, Aoba, no need to sound so disappointed. You're pretty attractive, of course not as attractive as me, so I'm sure Clear wouldn't mind you jumping him. For real, just nail him already.'"Jumpin-...NAILING!?? Oh my GOD, Sly, just shut up! And what the hell do you mean, whose more attractive? We're the same god damn person!"'We are NOT the same fucking person, excuse you! I am clearly the magnificent, intelligent, hot, sexy and all around epitome of perfection, Sly, while you are my ordinary, kinda dumb, not as sexy alter ego, Aoba.'I just cradled my head in my hands praying to a higher power, anyone actually, to just kill me now. Clear just sat next to me the entire time with a soft smile."Hey Clear, how about we go for a walk outside while it's still sorta nice out?""That sounds great, Aoba-san! It might start snowing soon so we might as well enjoy the clear weather while it lasts!"I threw a simple jacket over my sweats while Clear opted for a jacket, scarf and mittens. Geez, it wasn't that cold out. Just as we were headed out the door I was hit with a sudden realization. I had already been staying here for a year. Twelve months. Eight of which were spent dating Clear. Shit, we've already been dating eight months?'Seriously! That's what I've been saying! Eight months and the prude Aoba hasn't put out...'"Wha- I'm NOT a prude. I'm just...you know what, I don't have to explain myself to YOU!"'Really? That's the best you can come up with? Hey, moron, I literally live inside your head. I know EVERYTHING you're thinking...'"Shit.""Aoba-san, is everything alright?"I looked up to Clear who was a few feet ahead of me and looking back at me with a concerned expression."Yeah, yeah. I'm totally fine." I tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Just got caught up in a weird conversation with Sly."Clear giggled and held his hand out to me. I blushed but took it anyway. I lowered my head in thought. Clear and I had gone out for eight months but the furthest we ever got were some heated make out sessions. I mean making out with Clear definitely left me wanting more if me bearing a raging erection counted. It seems like Clear gets into it as well but whenever things start getting too heated he backs out. My eyes widened in realization. Maybe Clear liked me as a person but didn't find me attractive enough to go any further.'Shut the fuck up! Stop those thoughts RIGHT there! Clear definitely wants you sexually. Did you not see that MASSIVE boner last time you made out???'"But why would he stop?"'Who fucking knows. Ask him. Maybe it's something stupid like he doesn't want to totally rip you in half with his fucking elephant dick...'I couldn't help but picture Clear, sitting on a bed, with a giant elephant between his legs...I began laughing out loud. I was laughing so hard I doubled over, tears in my eyes."Aoba-san," Clear had squatted down in front of me so he could see my face while I was bent in half. He had a sweet and gentle smile on his face. "I love seeing Aoba-san laughing and happy, but..." Suddenly his face turned extremely serious. "But are you okay? In every movie I've seen the first step to becoming a villain starts with bouts of manic laughing. Your laughing sounds pretty manic, Aoba-san." Clear sounded generally concerned, god he was too precious.I couldn't help but glance down at Clear's groin, after imagining elephant noises coming from it I broke out into a fit of laughter once again."Oh god...pfffft...seriously...hahaha! I-I can't!" I broke off into incoherent giggles. But seriously, what if Clear took his pants off and there really was an elephant head there? I was laughing so hard I literally fell over backwards onto my ass.'Holy shit...this guy's fuckin' nuts...I may live in your head but I REFUSE to associate with you from now on.'"A-Aoba-san? Are you alright?" I could only giggle some more. "Oh no...Aoba-san is broken. Should I get you a nurse?" I felt bad for Clear who was obviously distraught by now."N-no, mmph, heehee. I'm fine." I took a few calming breaths. "Sly just said something really funny and I couldn't help it, sorry." I tried smiling up at him. He seemed relieved."Thank goodness. I was certain Aoba-san had completely lost it and was going to strangle me then set the entire institution on fire in your never ending quest for world domination."I blinked once. Then twice. " Clear..." I started slowly. "What kind of movies do you watch at night?""The ones that Noiz-san leaves on."I sighed. "So really messed up horror films...""Oh! But there was this one film that the director, Toue-san, left! It was really strange. It was about a man and his male lover,"I raised a brow. A gay film?"and he wanted to be with his lover forever. So in order to make sure he never ran away,"Wait-what?"He cut off his lovers arms and legs. He also removed his eyes so he wouldn't be able to see anyone but him. I believe the movie ended with the man eating his lover so he could be with him always by being inside of him..."I was stunned. "Wait. You said the director of this place, Toue, right? He left something like that here?" Clear nodded. "Holy shit, that's totally fucked up...""I agree! It was very frightening! I was so scared I tried to sleep in someone else's room that that night but Noiz-san kicked me out and Mink-san wouldn't even open his door. Although Ren-san let me stay in exchange for belly rubs."I blinked. To think that the director of this place was even crazier than the patients, now that was truly frightening.'Holy fucking mother of- damn I gotta see that!'"What!?"'Calm down! I mean doesn't it pique your interest even a little bit?'"No, Sly. Just no." Thankfully Clear decided to interrupt just then."Aoba-san, let's sit on the edge of the water fountain and watch the birds!"I looked up and realized that there were indeed some small birds, likely sparrows or something, that didn't migrate. I smiled."Yeah, sure Clear. That sounds fun."I was impressed when Clear walked straight up to the fountain and sat down. The water was semi-reflective so he had never been closer than 20 feet away from it. We watched the birds for a while before Clear turned to me, breaking the comfortable silence."Um...Aoba-san. W-what does it look like?""Hmm? Well it doesn't look like snow yet." He shook his head."That's not what I meant.""Oh? If you're asking what type of bird that was then there's no way I can tell you. I know close to nothing about birds." Clear giggled."No, silly Aoba-san." I was confused at what he was getting at but happy that I could get him to relax some with my apparent dumbness. "I mean my- you know...my...face..." He whispered the word 'face' like it was a bad word. I faced Clear and took his hand in one of mine while I cupped the side of his face with the other."Listen up, Clear. Your face is fine. More than fine..." I stopped mid-sentence. What the hell? More than fine? "Um...what I mean is..."'He's fucking gorgeous! Like, seriously, I'm about to switch places with you just so I can fuck him right here, right now on this fountain.'My face was going to catch fire. If Sly was a real person and not living inside my head I would totally kill him right about now. I love Sly, he's like an obnoxious older brother but still family, so I wouldn't actually kill him. He just says really embarrassing things, not once in a while but all the time. Although this time I couldn't really disagree with his opinion."W-what I'm trying to say is. Ah! You look like me!"Clear cocked his head to the side. "Like Aoba-san?""Well, yeah. I mean you have two eyes," I put both hands on the sides of his face and traced my thumbs underneath his eyes, "you've also got a normal looking nose." I tweaked his nose between my middle finger and pointer finger which made him laugh. "And then you have a pair of lips." My fingertips trailed over his bottom lip. I couldn't help but feel a thrum of arousal course through me. I noticed Clear shudder."Just like Aoba-san..." Clear whispered as he leaned closer. I closed my eyes and parted my lips while tilting my head slightly upward. I felt the warmth of Clear's breath fan over my cheeks just before our lips met. Clear tilted his head to better slot our mouths together and moved his lips in a sweet rythmic motion.I lowered my hands down to Clears shoulders while his hands drifted upwards and his fingers twined into my hair, one just above the nape of my neck while the other was positioned further up cradling the back of my head. I sighed and opened my mouth wider. I made a weird strangled moan when I felt Clear's tongue slip into my mouth, it pressed against the roof, rubbing sensually over every nook and cranny until finally twining with my own tongue. I clasped Clear's shoulders harder. I was breathing so hard I felt like I would pass out any moment. I knew I needed to pull away but refused to. The choice was made for me when Clear moved away first."Haa, haa. Aoba-san," he paused to catch his breath. I could see the slight sheen of our mixed saliva coating his lips which were swollen from our kisses. Swollen, red and glossy. So beautiful. "Aoba-san?" I shook my head to rid myself of my fantasies of where I wanted those lips...shit! Now I sound like a huge pervert!"S-sorry. I didn't get that, you were saying?"Clear smiled at me. "I was saying that we should stop.""Huh?" I was completely dumbfounded. It wasn't until then that I noticed I was achingly hard and every little movement was just a tease of friction. I looked down in embarrassment and went to cover myself with my hands when I noticed Clear was I the same state I was. So he IS physically attracted to me. "THEN WHY STOP!?" I blanched. There was no way I just said that out loud.'You fucking go Aoba! That's right, you DEMAND that dick!'Clear looked at me in shock. We sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes until,"So, I just want to make sure...Aoba-san, you...you don't want to stop?"I could feel myself blush to the roots of my hair. I shook my head. "No. I-I want...more..."Clear cocked his head in that damn, fucking cute way he always does. "More? How can I give Aoba-san more?""Y-you just wanna make me say it out loud for you!? FINE! SEX! I WANT SEX!" I seriously wanted to crawl into a hole and just die."Sex?" Clear furrowed his brow in thought. Wait, does he not know what- "Oh!" His eyes widened as if he just remembered something. All of a sudden I saw a sight I thought I'd never see in my entire life. A cherry red hue dusting Clear's face from one cheek accross the bridge of his nose all the way to his other cheek. Clear was actually blushing. "...Aoba-san wants...sex..." He whispered 'sex'. The blush on his face suddenly reached his ears."Do you not want to?" I tried to keep my voice steady but even I could hear the disappointment in my tone."NO!" I was taken back, I've never heard Clear shout before. "I do Aoba-san! I do want to...to make love." I blushed when he phrased it that way, "I didn't know two men could do such a thing. The textbook I found at the orphanage never mentioned it.""W-well, um, yeah. We can. So, would you like to?" I suddenly felt very awkward."Yes!""So, you wanna head back in?""Yes!""Let's head to my room then. I, um, have the stuff we need...""Oh, okay..."Clear bashfully took my hand and I led him back towards the main entrance. I was about to be with the man I fell in love with. We were about have se- no, we were about to make love.'God! About fucking time!!!'
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Once we actually reached my room I was at a total loss of what to do. I mean humiliating myself by walking past the nurse working the front entrance with a boner was kind of a mood-killer. I watched as Clear made his way to my bed awkwardly. He looked like he was about to sit down until he stopped himself."Um, Aoba-san...um, is it okay, I mean, would it be alright if I sat down?""Wha-uh, yeah. Of course it's fine." Clear sat down as I hovered by the door."Um, Aoba-san, would you like to maybe sit next to me?""Uh, sure..." I made my way stiffly over to the bed and sat down. We both sat on the edge of the bed about 30 feet apart and stayed in an awkward silence for what seemed like hours until Clear finally spoke up."Would you mind if I kissed you again Aoba-san?"I was so nervous and embarrassed that all I could muster was a half-hearted nod.'What the fuck, Aoba? You were all ready to jump that monster dick earlier, where's your balls? Are you sure you really even have a dick?'I buried my head in my hands. "Oh my god, Sly. Please stop. This is embarrassing enough as it is, can you please not?"Clear smiled at me sympathetically before slipping two fingers under my chin and raising my face towards his. "Aoba-san-""Ah! Right! I've been meaning to tell you but just 'Aoba' is fine. I mean we are d-dating afterall, so...""A-alright then, um, Aoba-sa-, uh, Aoba..." Clear's face was just as red as mine probably was. "Aoba, I love you." He then leaned towards me as he closed his eyes. I was terrified I would screw up the kiss by bashing our faces together so I kept my eyes open until our lips met. Once I felt his warm, soft mouth on mine I let my eyes slip shut. The kiss grew deeper, Clear's hands threading through my hair to rest at the nape of my neck. I felt my heart beating so fast I thought I'd literally have a heart attack.'Fucking Aoba, I'm finally about to get some so don't you DARE die on me now!''I won't die on you, Sly.' I refrained from answering Sly out loud, if I mentioned dying right now that would be a major turn off and trust me, the way Clear was caressing the inside of my mouth with his tongue and gently suckling my bottom lip I was VERY turned on. Clear moved one hand down to rest on my ribcage. He stroked my side through my shirt as he pulled away slightly."Is this alright, Aoba?"The way he whispered my name sent shivers down my spine. "Yeah, it's okay...it's good." The way he kissed me left me with a heady and giddy feeling. I was feeling so good right now that I pretty much threw away all my inhibitions. Scratch that, it's more like I shredded them, tossed them in a trash can and fucking burned them. I grabbed Clear's shoulders to bring him closer to me and melded our lips back together. If making out felt this good I really will die when we go further. I barely even registered what I was doing at the moment until Clear pulled back slightly with a small gasp. It was then that I realized I was straddling Clear's lap and, wait, when the hell did I take off my shirt?"Aoba, can I... c-can I touch you?""Uh, sure..."'Wow Aoba, real smooth.'I would have retorted to Sly's insult if it weren't for Clear's fingertips slowly inching up my sides. It had felt good earlier but now without any clothes separating us,"Mmph. C-Clear, ahaha, w-wait a min-heehee-ute. Haha, ahaha!" I couldn't help the small giggles that escaped me from the ticklish sensation. Clear began wiggling his fingers."Ahahahaha! No! Stop! Ha! Ser-seriously! Gh! Hahahahaha!""Haha, Aoba are you ticklish?" He stopped long enough for me to answer.I couldn't really be mad at him, the face he was making was one of pure joy. I smacked him upside the head. Lightly. "What do you think, dummy?"His smile was almost blinding. "I'm so glad I learnt something new about you today, Aoba!""Hey, I've been meaning to ask you but, why do you say my name in almost every sentence?""That's because I love your name and the way it sounds of course! That's how much I love you Aoba!"My mouth hung open while my face spontaneously combusted. How the hell could he spout such sappy embarrassing lines with such a straight face? "A-alright, alright. I get it so, let's just move on, okay?""Okay, Aoba."Now that I knew the reason Clear said my name hearing it again made me flush. Before I could protest I felt a soft breath against my chest."Aoba, is it alright if I-""You don't have to ask everything! I mean, it's with you and I... you know. I love you and I trust you so you don't have to ask before you do every little thing. Just do what you want." I turned my head away before I could embarrass myself further."Alright then." I felt his face return to its previous position, hovering just above my chest. The next thing I felt was a gentle kiss to the left side of my chest, directly over my heart. I felt a strange soft and fluffy sensation. I looked down and realized that Clear was laying his head against my chest, ear pressed against my skin."Clear?"He didn't respond but hummed to acknowledge he heard me. He pulled away for a moment to pull his shirt off then looked up at me expectantly."We should take the rest of our clothes off, Aoba. That would probably be helpful."I couldn't help but giggle at the complete sincere tone in his voice. He wasn't being sarcastic or snarky, just incredibly dorky and adorable."Yeah, we should."I quickly scrambled off of him and pulled down the elastic of my sweatpants. I noticed Clear do the same. I quickly pulled my pants off and shucked them somewhere in the corner. I would have laughed at Clear for folding his clothes meticulously and placing them on my dresser but all words died in my throat as I took in his naked body. He was pale, as expected of someone who only got to go outside once a month, but he was flawless. He was slightly muscular but not in a bodybuilder way, he was longer and leaner. Every inch of skin was perfect, not a single blemish or imperfection. I was suddenly very self conscious. I didn't look horrible but I had a few scars from my rebellious teenage street fighting years, at least that's what Granny told me. I don't really remember those years. I haven't exercised at all during my stay here, not that I exercised much beforehand, so any muscle I had was long gone and replaced with soft, squishy flesh instead. Clear turned around unexpectedly. He looked at me and gasped."Aoba, you're so-""Yeah, I know I'm so outta shape, right? Ahahaha! If you're really turned off by me I'll totally understand. Really!" Shit, what the hell am I saying? I was so nervous I was spouting off nonsense. I never cared much about body image before so why now? I knew exactly why. I wanted to impress Clear."Huh? What do you mean, Aoba? I think you're beautiful, no, perfect."He walked towards me while smiling. I looked down in embarrassment and almost wished I hadn't. The sight that greeted me was a thousand times more embarrassing. Apparently Clear wasn't turned off by me. I couldn't help but stare at his erection, it was enormous.'Oh shit. Aoba, tell Clear that you might've changed your mind. Please, I don't want to die!'I quickly turned my head only to have Clear's warm hand cup my cheek and turn my face back to his. Once I was looking at him again he smiled."I love you."He told me he loved me before and it gave me a light, fluttering feeling in my stomach. Now that we were both naked though it left me bare, emotionally naked and vulnerable. Loved. Cherished. My heart was pounding as I looked him in the eyes and said,"I love you, too."His smile widened. He leaned in and gave me a sweet, gentle kiss. The kiss started out innocently but as time passed it got more passionate, his lips gently nipping at mine, our hot breaths mingling each time we pulled apart for air. After being so nervous any arousal I had that had diminished now returned full force. Clear pulled away panting slightly."Let's get comfortable."I could only nod as we made our way back to the bed. We layed down both on our sides facing each other. Clear moved closer, cradling my head in one hand while his other rested against my hip. I slid closer to him until there was no space between us. The kiss got deeper once again. This time Clear's tongue entered my mouth and rubbed against every inch. I gasped into the kiss when our erections brushed."Clea- nh!" I couldn't help but whimper as Clear ground his hips into mine."A-Aoba!"He gasped as we rutted together. The pace was relatively slow but I could feel the pleasure tingle down my spine and settle into my groin.'S-shit! Aoba, s-stop him. We need to, guh, go all th-e way. Ah!'I was shuddering and moaning non-stop by now. The pleasure causing my aching hardness to weep almost continuously."C-Clear, wait!" He stopped immediately. He looked stricken."We're you not enjoying that? Oh, oh no! Aoba I'm so sorry! Only I was feeling good, I'm so selfish!" He looked close to tears."No, haa, haa, it's not, haa..." I had to take a moment to calm my breathing. "It's not that Clear. I wanna go all the way with you and if we kept going it'd be over.""All the way?"Did he seriously not know what I was talking about? "Um, yeah. You know..." I laid on my back and spread my legs slightly. I was blushing insanely but I hoped he'd get the message. He stared for a while longer with his head tilted. Obviously he didn't.'Right! Clear's lived here for most of his life so he probably doesn't really know about sex and was just going off instinct so far. I mean he practically said as much when he mentioned textbook sex earlier.'I didn't really think about it until Sly brought up the very valid point. Clear probably had next to no knowledge about any kind of sex besides what he learned through a textbook which frankly probably wasn't a lot based on his reaction just now."Well, uh, don't worry about it. I can walk you through it." I tried to sound confident but honestly, the majority of my sex knowledge came from what I read online, snippets of porn and a little self exploration. "I'll get the stuff we'll need." I quickly rolled over and reached under my bed. I felt around until I felt a crinkle. Got it! I pulled out the gift bag Sei had given me and dumped the contents onto my bed."Huh? What the hell?"Half of the giant-ass bottle of lube was missing and there wasn't one condom left."What's wrong?"I looked up at Clear's concerned face and shook my head."No, nevermind. It's not important, we have what we need." At least we had lube. Where the hell did the rest go though?'Huh, I have a guess...'"Alright! So, um..." The mood was awkward, again."What do I do, Aoba?""Well, uh, first I have to prep myself.""Prep? Like cooking? I love cooking!"I choked on my spit. "No, no, no! Uh, I have to stretch myself.""Ah, I see! Can I help?"The thought of Clear doing THAT to me made me both mortified and extremely turned on. I was almost fully hard instantly. Wait, does Clear actually have experience then? I thought he didn't even know two men could have sex so how would he know how to- before I could finish my thought Clear was on me. Literally. He had come up from behind me, taken my shoulders in his hands and was now pushing my torso down towards my legs."Uh, Clear, what are you doing?""Helping you stretch!"'...' Sly was speechless for once.Oh my god! He thought I meant stretching for exercising. I didn't know weather to be relieved that I really wasn't the onky one without any sexual experience or to laugh at the ridiculous situation we were in. I chose both."Pftt, I meant a different kind of stretching! Hahaha!"Clear looked astonished. "There's different kinds of stretching?""Yeah, just sit in front of me and I'll show you." He nodded obediently and sat in front of me with his legs tucked under his butt and his palms on his knees staring intently. I had just covered my fingers with lube and lay down, my knees bent and legs slightly parted. I was so amused at Clear's mix up that I didn't actually think about what I was about to do. The realization hit me full force. I was literally about to finger myself in front of my boyfriend. Sure I had done it on a few curious nights on my own but now that there was someone there watching... I could feel his stare.'Shit, we must both be exhibitionists or something 'cause I'm so fucking turned on right now.'I was so hard it was starting to throb. We hadn't even really touched each other much but I was already like this. I took a deep breath and swallowed my embarrassment. I spread my legs more and trailed my hand down to my opening. My finger lightly traced the muscle and I shuddered. I rubbed the lube around the skin and applied more pressure with my finger, it went in rather smoothly. I gasped at the sensation but my small gasp turned into a full out moan when I pushed deeper. I could almost reach my prostate but my fingers were too short and I could only graze it but it still felt good. I stopped when I heard a whimper. I hadn't realized I closed my eyes until I opened them. Clear was staring at me, his gaze heated and he was squirming."Clear?""I-I'm sorry! I-I don't know why but, but-!"Clear was obviously aroused by me touching myself, he was rock hard and breathing heavily. Honestly I wasn't faring much better. I have no idea what possessed me to say what I did next."Clear, you can do it if you want....""Aoba!"Before I changed my mind I sat up and helped Clear apply some lube to his index finger."Okay, so all you have to do is exactly what I did earlier. Got it?""Uh-huh!"'He looks like a kid at Christmas. So fucking cute!'I lay back down and spread my legs once again. Clear's fingers reached between my legs and he pressed his finger against me, rubbing just as I had earlier. He added a little pressure and it was in. I jolted slightly. There wasn't any pain but the thought of someone else, no, of Clear inside me was way too arousing."Is this okay?"Clear's voice was so breathy it made me moan."Yeah. You can- nnh, put it in deeper."He didn't say anything but nodded. His fingers were much longer and slightly thicker than mine. If he put his finger in a little further he might be able to reach-"Ah!""Aoba! Are you alright!?""F-haa-fine!" He hit my prostate dead on. "Kee- keep going. It feels good."Clear moved his finger slowly but steadily, the pleasure was building inside me."Another.""Huh? Another what, Aoba?"I grabbed his hand and helped guide him out. I lubed up his second and third finger and he seemed to get the hint because soon he was rubbing two fingers against my entrance."Like this?""Y-yeah."My heart was racing, beating so erratically I thought I was about to have a heart attack. He pushed both in. The moan I made was loud. So loud that I not only embarrassed myself but also left me freaked out that someone had heard me. The second finger was much more of a stretch and left me kind of uncomfortable but definitely still tolerable."Are you okay?"I took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm good." I smiled up at Clear and he moved his fingers, slower than the first time for which I was grateful for. Soon enough I didn't notice the stretch anymore."Clear, the last one-" I was breathing too heavily to finish but he understood anyway. He rubbed his third finger against me without removing the other two. He built up pressure slowly until it started to push it's way through. I tensed up. I felt a burning feeling that was both foreign and a little more uncomfortable. Thankfully Clear noticed my discomfort."Do you need to stop?"'Fuck no! You're getting that dick!'I smiled. "No I'm good. Just, um, can you give me a few minutes?""Of course." He smiled at me and stroked my hair out of my face.We sat there awkwardly. Well, actually I sat there awkwardly while Clear left soft, butterfly kisses over my entire face with his fingers knuckle deep in my ass. Eventually the pressure faded but I could still feel the residual burning."You can put it in now."Clear furrowed his brow. "Put what in?"I looked pointedly at his groin. I had softened slightly but Clear was as hard as ever. His eyes widened."I put this inside you?"I couldn't help the laughter that slipped from my lips. "Yeah, you put that inside me. Oh! But first take your fingers out."Clear did as told, the drag of his fingers inside me making me jolt. "Put lube on yourself first." I covered my palm with lube and began stroking him off. He shuddered and gripped the sheets."Mnh! Aoba!"I deemed him ready and laid back down once again. He settled between my legs. My heart was racing and my hands were sweating. I was breathing so heavily my chest was heaving. I felt him, the warmth of his tip pressed against me."Are you ready?"Clear looked worried, I guess he realized it would probably hurt since his penis was way bigger than his fingers. His concern for my well-being and the loving look in his eyes left me even more sure of this than when we first started."Yeah."He pressed a sweet kiss to my forehead as he pushed in. I scrunched up my brow as the head breached me. There was a serious burning sensation followed by an intense pressure."S-stop!" Clear froze immediately."Oh my- Aoba! Do you need to stop? Should I pull out? Are you okay!?""I'm fine, just wait a few before you go again, please?""Of course!"'Oh, fucking Jesus! This fucking burns! Fucking porn is a fucking lie!'I took deep breaths to relax my muscles. Clear kept kissing my entire face, whispering 'I love you's' in between each peck which made me smile. After a long few minutes the pressure and burning lessened."Clear, you can go now."He nodded but moved slowly and cautiously. The way he was sweating, his trembling arms and the barely-there moans were a good indication of just how much pleasure he was feeling. The fact that he held back for my sake left me breathless. In a span of 5 minutes he was all the way in. By that time I had gone completely flaccid. Obviously Clear noticed this as well because the next thing I knew he took me in his hand and gently fondled me. The pleasurable sensation coupled with the fact that we were completely connected got me fully hard again in seconds."Cl-Clear! You can, uhn..."I couldn't finish my sentence but he understood regardless. His hips moved slowly but clumsily. It didn't matter to me, he didn't have to be perfect because to me he already was."Haa, haa, Aoba!"I could feel Clear twitch inside of me."Clear!"My head was getting hazy. I couldn't think of anything but the gentle movements of Clear's hips and hand. I gripped the bedsheets hard, my legs twitching uncontrollably. Suddenly Clear shifted his hips and rubbed my prostate dead on."Ah!"My eyes closed and I threw my head back. My muscles tightened which must have made Clear feel good if his sudden groan was anything to go by. The constant onslaught had me gasping and before long I was at my peak."Clear! I can't- I'm gonna- ah!"My whole body arched as I climaxed. Clear's hand left my spent erection in favor of grabbing my hand. All it took was a couple more thrusts before he tensed up."Aoba! I love you!"He collapsed on top of me and I welcomed the warm weight. I stroked his hair while we bathed in the feelings we were left with. After a few moments he gently pulled out and I grimaced at the feel of wetness on my cheeks and thighs.'Fuck a shower, that means we have to get up and go all the way to the public bath down the hall.'Clear cupped my face in his hands and looked me in the eyes."I love you, Aoba Seragaki."I felt my eyes get wet with the threat of tears."Yeah. I love you too, Clear."
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When I woke up the next morning I turned over to find Clear laying next to me. His sleeping face was relaxed and almost child like. I smiled then sat up. Bad idea."Owww! Fuck!"I shifted my hips so I wasn't laying directly on my ass.'Holy shit, that adorable fucker totally tore you to shreds!'"Geez Sly, he wasn't that bad and you know it."'Yeah, yeah. You had your romantic, gentle, loving first time that every maiden dreams of.'I hid my face in my hands. "Shut up!" Sly snickered. I felt the bed shift to my side and looked down. Clear was waking up, although rather slowly. He smiled brightly when saw me."Good morning, Aoba." His voice was kind of hoarse with sleep but still undeniably sexy. He lifted his hand to cup my cheek. "How are you feeling, beautiful?""..." My mouth was left gaping and my entire body was flushed red. 'Beautiful?' Where the hell did THAT pet name come from??? I swatted his hand away. "I'm not beautiful! Jesus, why didn't you say something like 'handsome'?""Oh. I'm sorry."I sighed in relief. Thank god he finally understoo-"How are you feeling, handsome?"There was an entire minute of complete silence.'Oh my fucking god! That sounds like a pick-up line from some 50-something year old cougar!'I burst out laughing. "Cleeeear! No pet names, okay? It's weird!"He pouted. "But Aoba, pet names bring a couple closer and gives them a deeper sense of intimacy!""Where the hell'd you hear that!?""From a love self-help book I borrowed from Koujaku."So that's where he got all his tacky one-liners. After an intense debate with Clear my ass was feeling much better so I suggested we sneak to the community bathroom for a quick shower. Thankfully no one was there and we managed to get in and out without anyone discovering that we had spent the night together. We made it to the dining area just in time for breakfast. Ren, Mink, Koujaku and Noiz were already there. As soon as they came into view Sly took over.'Move over Aoba, I got a bone to pick with that bean pole fucker!'"Oi! You scrawny little fuck!"That smug fucker turned to face me with no expression on his face."You stole all my condoms and used practically all my fuckin' lube, bastard! How the hell did you even know I had it!?"I grabbed him by the collar and stared him down. He stared back with a blank face. "Well, firstly that gift bag your brother gave you looked pretty suspicious and I was curious so I snuck into your room. Secondly, I took it 'cause it's not like I can readily get sex paraphernalia into this place and how else am I gonna get my dick into that old geezer." He jerked his head in Koujaku's direction. "I can take it dry but the old man's a pussy so..."Koujaku jumped up from the table, slamming his hands down in front of him. "We are NOT discussing anyone's sex lives here! And besides, I am not a..." His entire face went red as he whispered, "pussy." I couldn't help but laugh at that. The fucking loser couldn't even say the word pussy. He stood up straight once more. "I have no idea how you can take it dry, are you crazy!?"The bean pole scoffed. "Was that a rhetorical question?" I shoved the fucking brat away from me."Fine, whatever. Just don't you fucking DARE steal my shit again, got it?" The damn brat just rolled his eyes at me and muttered 'whatever' before sitting back down. I wast just about to sock the smug bastard in the face until Aoba spoke up.'Alright, alright. You did what you needed to do now give me back control.'I rolled my eyes. "Fine."I blinked a couple of times after Sly gave me control. I still couldn't bear the headaches that came afterwords. I sat down to join everyone for breakfast. We were talking, joking and eating when suddenly a nurse walked through. Usually this was pretty normal aside from the fact that she was guiding a guy in a straight jacket. I mean this IS a mental institution but he looked kind of crazy. Mink looked up and as soon as he saw the guy he tensed up. Why the hell was he afraid of some short blonde dude with glasses? How the hell did he even know him? He looked up and his eyes locked on mine. Time seemed to stand still until suddenly his eyes went wide and he began screaming,"YOU! IT'S YOU! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! AHAHAHA! YOU'RE HERE! HAHAHA! YOU'RE THEORY ONE WHO PUT ME HERE! FINALLY! FINALLY! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU FOR REAL THIS TIME! AHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"The nurse quickly pulled the guy away but I could still hear his manic laughter all the way down the hallway. My head was suddenly in excruciating pain. I grabbed my head in both hands. I saw a flicker of red, flames maybe? Before my vision went black and I passed out.
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I woke up in my bed with a throbbing headache. I tried to sit up but was promptly pushed back down again."Aoba, you can't get up yet. You have to be looked at by a doctor before you make any attempt at moving." Koujaku was looking down at me, concern clearly written on his face. "I checked your vitals manually but we'll have to hook you up to a monitor to double check everything just in case." I nodded and laid back down. Not three seconds after my head hit the pillow the door slammed open and a hysterical Clear came barging in."Aoba-san!!!!" He threw himself onto me. The force of his body weight stole the breath out of me."C-Clear!" I choked on air hoping he'd get the hint and give me some breathing room. No such luck."Aoba-san! Oh god, Aoba-san!!! Are you alright? Please tell me you're alright! Aobaaaaaa! I missed you so much! I'm so glad you're alive! I can't ev-"I shoved my hand over his mouth. He kept sobbing and trying to talk which resulted in his words being muffled and my hand covered in spit, snot and tears. Oh my god, I loved Clear and all but I'm so going to need to wash my hands after this."Clear!" I tried raising my voice. "Listen, I'm fine. I don't really know what happened but I'm fine now. Promise."I moved my hand and Clear looked at me with relief and tears in his eyes. "Really?""Yeah.""Really, really?""Yeah.""Really, really, real-""Yes!"We were silent for a minute until we both started laughing."I'm just gonna, you know, go..."Koujaku backed away slowly. I quickly turned to him."Thanks Koujaku."He just smiled. Later that night I was curled up with Clear and was just about to drift off to sleep when I was disrupted by Sly.'Hey loser half of me, we need to talk.'I knew it was important. "Of course." I closed my eyes and found myself back at the beach where I talked to Sly a while back. He was sitting on a rock near the beach just staring at the waves with a contemplative look on his face.'What did you see?'"Huh?"'Before you passed out you saw something right?'I lowered my head in thought. "Yeah, I saw...flames? That must have been due to the accident, right? Was that guy involved?"Sly sighed. 'Aoba, it's time I tell you the truth. Sit down.'I was completely taken back by Sly's seriousness. I sat down next to him and for the next hour I listened to my life story. How I was a trouble maker as a teenager but relatively harmless until I got caught up with two guys, Virus and Trip, who were not harmless at all. In fact they were sociopaths. I listened to how they would instigate me into committing petty crimes such as stealing from the local bakery. I felt tears streaming down my face as he told me about Mink's family. How they had set the entire house on fire burning everyone inside alive. How afterwards I had a complete breakdown and refused to eat, sleep or even move from one spot. He then told me how Trip had died from the injuries he'd sustained from Mink and how the guy brought into the Institution was Virus who was apparently released here after waking from a coma.After he was finished Sly stood up and walked over to me where he proceeded to hug me awkwardly. We stayed like that until I noticed our surroundings getting hazy.'What the hell!? Aoba, wake up!'"Huh?"Sly looked almost panicked. 'Shit! Get up! Get the fuck out if here!'I started coming back to conciousness and became aware of two things simultaneously, one, there were sounds of yelling from outside my door and two, there was a suffocating smoke coming from underneath the door jam. I immediately turned to Clear who was still dead asleep."Clear, wake up." He mumbled and shifted slightly. "Damn it Clear! Get up! NOW!" I shoved him so hard he rolled right out of bed hitting the floor with a solid thud. I would have felt guilty if it weren't for the fact that I just realized this while place was on fire.Clear sat up while rubbing his head. "Aooobaaaa! You're so mean...wait! If you're this mean it must mean that Master is in control right now, right? I'm so sorry for calling you 'Aoba' Master.""No it's me, Aoba. Clear we have to get out now. I'm pretty sure there's a fire!"Clear wasted no time in grabbing my hand and dragging me out of the room."Hurry Aoba! We have to get out of here quickly!"'REALLY!? You just fucking said that!'We made it outside and I looked around. I noticed that everyone made it out safely. Koujaku, Mink, Noiz, Ren and all of the rest of the nurses and patients. That is until I noticed one person missing. Virus. I suddenly heard manic laughter over the sound of burning wood. I turned to face the building that was now engulfed in flames. The sight of the burning building brought all my previous memories back to the surface. I turned to bury my face into Clear's chest, fighting back the tears.**********1 Month Later**********Things had changed greatly after the Institution was burned down. Granny had been filing custody papers without my knowledge for some time now and had gotten legal rights that allowed me to stay with her. I found out that Noiz's parents had only sent him there but hadn't actually had him committed, he was actually there voluntarily and could have left at anytime but chose to stay because it, to quote Noiz himself, "beat those stuffy ruckus house any day". This made it easier for him and Koujaku to move in together into a dumpy apartment accross the street from Granny's house. Mink disappeared that night but we get cards with small trinkets from time to time. I'm pretty sure he lives in the woods now like some homeless bum. Clear and Ren were both wards of the state so Granny applied to get custody of them as well. After some "persuading" they both now live with us. As for me..."Aoba?"Clear put his hand on my shoulder."Are you alright?""Yeah, of course. Why?"Clear frowned. "You looked a little distracted."I shook my head. "Nah. It's nothing. Really." I tried to smile to reassure him but he didn't seem too convinced. Thankfully he let it go though, nodding before heading to the living room. As soon as he was out of the room I frowned. A whole month. One whole month and I haven't heard from Sly once. Did this mean that he was gone? I felt my eyes water. I never wanted him gone. He was like a second brother to me."Aoba! Dinner's ready!"I quickly dried my eyes and followed Ren's voice to the kitchen. I ate and talked with everyone at the table but I felt hollow inside. Sly's snide commentary missing almost felt like an arm or leg missing. My life would never be the same. After dinner Clear pulled me to the side."Aoba, how about we take a walk?"I smiled. "Yeah. That sounds good." I could tell he was trying so hard to make me feel better. Everyone already knew that Sly was gone and understood what it meant to me. We walked through the street hand in hand. Clear took me to our favorite park, it was one we found while grocery shopping together shortly after moving in with Granny. We sat down on one of the benches next to the water fountain. Clear took my hand then leaned in. He kissed me gently, threading his fingers through my hair. The park was completely empty so I could hear every little whimper Clear made. As the kiss went on I wrapped my arms around his neck getting more and more aroused."A-Aoba...haa...""Mmm."I pulled closer never wanting the moment to end. At that moment I heard something all too familiar...'So, are you gonna blow him right here in the park then? When the fuck did you get so kinky?'