Visual Kei

I was roused awake by the intense brightness of lights being turned on when one is deeply asleep. I made a noise of displeasure (something like a groan of protest) and buried my face in the red pillow, instead listening to whoever was making an entrance.

“Surpri-“ Chino shouted, breaking off midsentence in horror, “ze..?”

“Now that is a surprise, Chino!” Rei said almost proudly, his voice clearly shocked, but amused as well. “Dude… did Kiiro get some? Sweet!”

“Surprise!” Shinji yelled jubilantly, obviously coming in behind the others a bit later than he should have. “Huh? Why is everyone…? Oh… Uh oh.”

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then all hell broke loose.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Kiiro!” Chino demanded furiously, grabbing his throat with one hand and holding him aloft. I clutched the red blankets to me as I sat up straight in a mixture of shock, embarrassment, and horror, and tried too quickly to explain what was going on.

“Chino!” I yelled in horror. “Stop! He didn’t do anything! We didn’t do anything yet!”

“Yet,” Rei picked up, laughing delightfully. The others seemed either oblivious or non-caring about the scene which was unfolding beside me.

Chino shook Kiiro violently and his eyes seemed alight with the fury that was consuming him. Kiiro, all traces of grogginess gone, grabbed his arm and twisted it with a painful popping sound as his elbow dislocated. Gritting his teeth in pain, Chino punched Kiiro in the throat with his free hand, then using it to re-locate the joint with a hideous replay of the popping sound. Kiiro coughed and flashed his teeth dangerously.

“Stop! Both of you stop!” Looking to the others desperately, I realized that they were completely stunned with how quickly everything had escalated. “Stop!” I screamed louder.

Ignoring me, Chino threw Kiiro to the floor and punched him. “You fucking idiot!” he screamed. “You knew!” He punched Mikaru again. “You don’t understand!” He moved to punch him another time, but Kiiro grabbed his fist and held it fast.

“Enough, Chino!” Kiiro growled, his teeth bared angrily. “Nothing has transpired, and you are overreacting.”

“You damned fool!” Chino retorted, irate. Kiiro’s eyes narrowed and he deflected Chino’s sucker punch as well as the fist that was in his hand. “You try to lie to me when I can see everything you have ever thought!”

“If your abilities were at par, you might realize that Alice is thinking slightly more coherently than I. Being roused from sleep with a hand at your throat is not exactly helpful in such things,” he hissed. “Why don’t you read her? What does hitting me accomplish?”

“It sure would make me feel better,” Chino hissed back through gritted teeth. “Or maybe it would teach you some responsibility!”

“You are attacking your kin without cause. It appears you are the one in need of such a lesson.”

Chino growled furiously from deep in his throat and lunged at Kiiro unsuccessfully. It was now more about lust for violence than any infidelity Kiiro would have done. He easily dodged, and took a defensive position, but Chino recovered a bit too quickly and swept his feet out from under him. He flew backwards, but landed gracefully on his feet with a lean, muscular arm steadying him.

“God damn it, stop!” I yelled, ineffectively.

“Why do you persist, Chino? Why do you not simply find the answers in Alice?”

“You have nothing of use to say! Your actions speak for themselves, as do your thoughts.” The two began to circle one another.

“Indeed they do,” Kiiro agreed. “And that’s why you should listen to me now.”

“Your lies will not taint me.”

“Don’t be a fool.”

“You’re the fool here!” Chino retorted hotly. “How could you, Kiiro? How could you even think about sex with a human, particularly Alice, knowing the risks?” He reached wildly for Kiiro again. This time, I stepped between them, no longer caring that I was only wearing a bra and underwear.

Chino grabbed my throat instead, his eyes so blinded with rage that he didn’t realize who he was hurting. His grip was tighter even than that of Kiiro, and it squeezed my sight away much more quickly. I could not pry his fingers away with my fading strength, and was successful only in touching the backs of his hands. Kiiro yelled something at Chino, but I didn’t understand it. A small gasp escaped his lips and he let go immediately, a look of intense horror filling his eyes. I fell to the hardwood floor like a doll and coughed as I tried to draw in painful breaths. Chino was immediately away from me as far as the room would allow. I stared down at my fingers, unable to see them correctly for a moment as little colorful dots speckled my vision.

Kiiro knelt at my side, his hands gentle on my face as he checked my neck for serious damage. Anger flashed in his eyes at what had just happened, but he restrained it enough to at least assess what kind of injuries I had from Chino’s death grip on my neck. As he moved to get up, I grabbed his hand weakly, silently pleading for him to stay with me. He nodded in understanding, and cradled me in his arms as he sat on the other side of the bed, out of view of Chino and the others. They looked flabbergasted for a few moments more before going to Chino.

Kiiro looked worriedly into my eyes.

“Don’t worry,” I coughed. I managed a smile. “I’m okay.”

He didn’t say anything, but I rested my head against his shoulder and let him run his hand along the curve of my hip and thigh comfortingly. His lips gently touched my forehead and he rocked me back and forth a little. After a few moments, he slid his leather jacket over my shoulders and gave me a pair of his pants which had been neatly folded on the floor beside the bed.

As I put the clothes on, he put on some pants and approached the others, his face expressionless save for his burning silver eyes. Kiiro’s pants were too baggy, but I didn’t complain. I zipped his jacket up to my neck and joined the others.

Chino and Kiiro exchanged silent glares, while the others tried to pry information from Kiiro on what had really happened. I stood there listening to their questions all directed at him, my annoyance building. When I could stand it no more, I sighed with exasperation.

“No one seemed to want to listen to me when I tried to explain what happened,” I snapped, attracting their attention, even Chino’s. “So do you want to know it or not?” They all looked at me in shock that I could be so crisp.

“Then why were you wearing so little?” Shinji asked, trying very hard not to be accusing, but his voice betrayed his thoughts.

“Does it matter?” I sighed. “I was in my underwear and so was he. If we had sex, we wouldn’t be wearing anything. Besides, if we had sex, don’t you think we would be a little bit happier?”

Rei laughed. “She’s got a point about that second part.”