Unwell

Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi, nor am I making money off of this. And lets face it, I don't have anything to sue for anyway.

Genre: Romance

Rating: R, for violence, cursing, and controversial issues.

Warnings: Controversial issues including, but not limited to, homosexuality, religion, and political debate.\

Author's note: I honestly could not think of any other name for the school but Wayside... it was only after I finished the first chapter that I remembered a series of books with a school by the same name. These are in no way related.

Chapter One

Yet another "beautiful day" at Wayside High. Houjun sighed, hoisting his denim shoulder-bag higher on his shoulder. A swift October wind blew his oddly placed blonde fringe into his eyes, but before he could brush it away, a delicate porcelain coloured hand swept it away for him.

Could there be a more beautiful person than Ryuuen Chou? A tiny, sweet smile lighted upon Houjun's lips at the sudden appearance of his best friend and lover-- the latter was the, arguably, best kept secret in the city.

"You're early today," Ryuuen commented lightly, somehow managing to turn his head to just the proper degree so that the wind would play artfully with his long purple-black locks instead of tangling them horribly like it was inclined to do anyone else.

"I'm supposed to show some new kid around," The blonde replied as they watched the courtyard in front of the school begin to fill with students. "Shunkaku Bu..."

"Isn't that...?" Ryuuen frowned at Houjun's nod, "Then shouldn't Yui show him around?"

"I thought so too, but Mrs. Predor asked me to."

"And we all know the teacher's pet can't say no."

Houjun scowled at Ryuuen's teasing, "That's not fair, Ruu."

"You're right, its not," He had the decency to look ashamed, "Sorry."

"No harm done," Houjun squeezed the tinier teen's shoulder in a friendly manner. God, how he wanted to kiss him! But he couldn't, not here. While Ryuuen's family was okay with his being gay, Houjun's wasn't with his. Besides, neither cared to go public with that information just yet. Ryuuen made a soft sound in the back of his throat. Houjun looked in the direction that Ryuuen was now nodding his head to and saw his other best friend entering the school grounds.

Shun'u Kou, better known as Genrou, was a tall, lanky redhead with the cliche redhead temper. There were few who knew him better than that, and Houjun and Ryuuen were two of those privileged souls. For instance, despite his angry scowl, hunched stance, and killing glare, they could tell he was on the verge of tears. The pair exchanged glances and though Houjun longed to go to him as well, Ryuuen went alone to confront and comfort Genrou.

"Umm..." A light tenor voice startled Houjun from his reverie. Houjun's eyes focused on the blonde before him, and his mind went blank in a moment of intense recognition.

It could have been Shunkaku's resemblance to his maternal cousin, Yui Hongo, that caused the feeling of deja-vu. Like Yui, his hair glistened gold in the morning sun, and his face was a similar shape, but not quite as feminine. Weirdly close, however.

Unlike his cousin, Shunkaku's eyes were much narrower, telling of a good deal of Asian blood, but his irises were of a strange, soft amber that bubbled with emotion. Those eyes worried Houjun, for those were the kind of eyes that belonged to a liar or a fool. If Yui was to be believed, it was a mixture of the two. Of course, they were a contradiction to each other, so that couldn't be the case, but Houjun let his friend's convictions be.

"I'm, ah, looking for a Houjun Ri?" Shunkaku asked, one eyebrow raised. Behind him, Yui Hongo gave Houjun a look that clearly was apologizing for anything her cousin said or did. Apparently she had been forced to point Houjun out for Shunkaku as well as escort the boy to school, and didn't like the prospect. Considering her basic attitude towards her cousin, Houjun wouldn't doubt it.

Houjun smiled at her, waving, and shook his head softly to let her know it wasn't what she thought. Shunkaku turned to look behind him and caught the exchange. His jaw clenched and his eyes hardened. "Oh," was all he said, but that conveyed a world of meaning to Houjun.

Before he could push past Houjun, as he obviously intended to do, Houjun raised a hand and stepped further between Shunkaku and the door. "No. No, its not like that. She's just being sensitive." He let his hand fall between them, "I'm Houjun, as I think you know. You must be Shunkaku Bu."

Shunkaku's expression was still closed off, but he didn't begrudge Houjun the handshake; a gesture that won points for him. "Well, the main courtyard you've seen, obviously..." Houjun laughed a little, waving for Shunkaku to proceed indoors. Once inside, the crowd and noise was lessened.

As they walked, Houjun pointed out various places of interest and the various wings of the building that housed the offered subjects. It only took about half an hour, and soon the pair were back outside at the edge of the courtyard. They stood by the side-door they had come through and Houjun took a look around at the people. He wanted to go talk with Genrou, but felt a little sorry for the new kid, the social groups weren't easy to infiltrate. "Of course, the really interesting part of the school is out here, in the so-called 'social parties'."

Shunkaku grunted a reply. Houjun couldn't figure out why, but he couldn't find a way to take that as an insult, or even as being rude. It was just the way Shunkaku was, and something in him accepted that when he wouldn't have done so for most others.

"Over here you have your basic beautiful people," Houjun waved to one of the girls in that group. The redhead waved back, blowing a kiss to him. Houjun chuckled and continued as he walked with Shunkaku back towards the main double doors of the building, "The 'freaks' are over there. To your right we have the coffee drinkers, and across from them are the Cowboys. There's kind of a battle field between them, so if you see any ropes or hear any finger snapping, get out of the way. Those groups don't get along to well."

"Why not?"

"Well... semi-political liberal versus conservative issues on one hand, but mostly just holding grudges from kindergarten," Houjun shrugged at the childishness of it all.

Shunkaku made a noise that could have been a laugh. His eyes moved towards the parking lot by the courtyard. "Jocks?" he ventured, spying a beefy looking group of guys (and a few girls) standing near some expensive looking cars.

"How'd you guess?" Houjun smirked, "And there are the cheerleaders and dance team, on their way to meet them. Both males shook their heads as they watched the resulting display of "affection." It was disgusting. Turning back towards the main doors, Houjun finished up his tour.

"The drama kids, art kids, band geeks and gamers tend to hang out together," Fortunately Houjun was looking else where and didn't notice the splash of pain on Shunkaku's face at the mention of the band participants, "Then the 'outcasts'-- sometimes referred to as Goths, though they're not really-- are over there. Then again, they're not really outcast since they have each other." Houjun shrugged, "Some people get a kick out of making themselves miserable."

Though he didn't really agree, Shunkaku nodded, "Yeah... so, which are you in?"

"A drifter, I guess. I have friends in too many different groups to really count, " Houjun shrugged.

"Ah..."

"Shunkaku--"

"Shun."

Houjun nodded, resisting a smile that he was certain the other teen would have thought to be mocking, "Right, Shun. What schedule do you have?"

Shunkaku took a crumpled piece of paper out of his abused looking blue jeans and handed it to Houjun.

"Hey! We have English and choir together!" Houjun said, then raised his eyebrows, "And you have five classes with Ruu."

"Ruu?"

"Ryuuen Chou. He's a good friend of mine, I'll introduce you in English. Speaking of which, think you'll be okay on your own till them? I have some... things I have to attend to."

Reclaiming his schedule, Shunkaku nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Great! See you first period!" Without further ado, and in fact running off before Shunkaku could thank him for his help, Houjun went off to try and find Ryuuen and Genrou before school started.

Left to his own device, Shunkaku slowly turned in a circle, looking at the different groups. They all looked pretty tight. As he was trying to decide what to do, he noticed the redhead from before approaching. He could understand why she was one of 'the beautiful people' at first glance. She was tall, mostly leg, slender and her long red hair drifted down from her tight ponytail in an almost surreal floating manner. She wore one of those strangely popular tiny T-shirts that had a random phrase written across the chest (this one being the word "Princess"), and a pair of brand new jeans that fit so tightly you wondered how she was breathing. When the girl finally stopped before him, she didn't even offer her hand. Instead she kept her arms wrapped around her books and crushed them to her chest. Briefly Shunkaku wondered what the point of the ridiculously small backpack she sported was.

"Hi there!" The girl chirped, "I couldn't help noticing that you were walking with Houjun?" But the light in her eyes told him that she didn't really care about that.

"Uh, yeah... He was showing me around." The girl grinned, surprising him by linking one of her arms with his and beginning to drag him towards her crowd.

"New then? Must be hard. Why don't you come hang with me for awhile? I"m Kaen, by the way."

It wasn't as if she was giving him a choice! Shunkaku nobly resisted a yawn, and tried to be polite. How this girl reminded him of Yui! "Shunkaku."

Kaen grinned, "Shunnie!" She didn't notice when he flinched at the horrible nickname., "So, where did you move from?"

"Northland..." Shunkaku simply used the name of his old school, since it was in the district.

"Not too far then," She peered up at him, "You look familiar, though. Are you in Drama?"

"Ah, no, Kou–" Shun paused, realizing he didn't want to talk about his brother. After all, that would raise more questions about why he was there, and that was defiantly a subject best left untouched. "No. I'm not a very good actor."

"Oh, too bad..." Kaen whined. She hadn't actually missed his slip up, but pretended she had anyway. That was one of the 'life-lessons' she knew by heart: do not pry for information, just let them feel at ease. This way, you always look innocent. By the end of the year, she'd have this one helping her in her quest for homecoming queen for sure. If not willingly, by force. And with his looks, she was sure he could win over the less-popular girl's votes.

Still, there was a very strong sens of recognition there; she hadn't lied when she said she thought she'd seen him before. Kaen took a good look at his face while he was watching the other students in the courtyard. Yes, she could swear she had seen him before! But where? Quickly she stole a glance down the rest of his body.

Wide shoulders, thin hips, that much she could be sure of even with the clothing hindrance. His chest was hidden by a baggy, super-old black t-shirt that was imprinted with a faded and cracked yellow "smiley" face. Faded blue jeans, with plenty of nips, rips and threadbare spots on them clad his lower torso along with a pair of grubby old school sneakers that might have been red a few decades ago.

He wore something on his right wrist, but it was halfway hidden in his pant's pocket along with the rest of that hand. She couldn't inspect his left arms since she was plastered to it, but she caught the glint of sun on gold as she returned her sight to his face.

A total of eight tiny loop earrings adorned Shunkaku's ears, but they were placed unevenly rather than the typical even adjustment. On his left ear, Shunkaku bore two holes near the top of his ears, with a third down the side and a final two on his ear lobe. When he turned his head back towards her, Kaen caught a glimpse of the three on his right ear: one on the lobe, and two near the top.

"What?" Shunkaku asked a little nervously, shifting his ratty blue and black backpack by moving his shoulders slightly.

"Just wondering what that is," Kaen covered smoothly, tapping the base of her own neck to indicate the spot of gold peeking above the collar of his shirt.

"oh.. Just a chain." Shunkaku replied with a shrug. It wasn't, of course, but he didn't see why she or anyone else needed to know that. When Kaen looked as if she were going to press it, he added a question to try and divert her attention, "Where are we going anyway?"

Kaen frowned and looked up, realizing she had been so concentrated on examining him that she hadn't been paying attention to where they were going and had already passed her group up long ago. Probably just as well. Judging from the scandalized looks they had given her when she first approached Shunkaku, they didn't approve of his rag-tag appearance. Too bad for them, he was a hottie despite! Just needed to work on his fashion sense, was all...

"The courts," Kaen said to save face. They were almost to them, anyway, "A bunch of the gang hang out there." She thanked God she was a patron of more than one social class. Besides, she needed to speak with Taka.

They rounded a corner and Shunkaku saw the basketball courts that were placed between the lunch court and, English wing, and the gymnasium. Seated on the lunch tables nearest the courts were a few people and more backpacks and other school supplies than could possibly belong to them. On the courts themselves a handful of boys and a few girls were in the midst of a game. Though an accurate count was hard to attain, Shunkaku guessed that this wasn't a serious match since he was fairly certain there weren't enough players to make two full teams. Not to mention, the lighthearted verbal jabs they were throwing at one another.

"Hey-hey!" Kaen called in a sing-song voice, waving at the group as they approached. One of the scant girls on the court, a odd looking, short girl with obvious muscles and short-cropped hair, called the rest of the players attention to the new comers and had them halt the game for a moment. For some of the guys this was an obvious relief, for even though they were having fun it was a strenuous activity.

The girl looked a lot less worn-out than most of the boys, and strode to the edge of the court, the ball tucked safely under her arm. Shunkaku raised his eyebrows a little in surprise that her hair was dyed a dark shade of blue. Most schools didn't allow that. "New boy for us, Kaen?"

Kaen snorted in a most unladylike fashion, contempt laden in her manner and voice, "Not for you, Ashlynn." That must have been some form of insult, for the blue-haired girl–Ashlynn–promptly gave Kaen the one-finger salute, then turned her back and tried to get the others to resume the game. However, a few were too interested in the newcomer to continue at the moment.

It was then that Shunkaku noticed that one of the persons occupying the tables was none other than his beloved cousin.

"What are you doing here?" Yui asked coldly.

"What does it look like?" Shunkaku countered. Talk about holding grudges! He hadn't even done anything to her since they were six, she didn't have to hold it against him, but she did.

"... You two know each other already?" Kaen looked a bit crestfallen. It was the brunette beside Yui that answered instead.

"Oh! You must be Shunkaku! Yui told us a lot about you!"

It took Shunkaku a few minutes to process that statement, for he was far too busy wondering how on earth the girl could talk so clearly while stuffing herself full of a box of Krispy Kreame Donuts. For that matter, how could one so skinny eat a full box of Krispy Kreame Donuts?

"Oh really," Shunkaku finally said, "And what did she tell you?"

Kaen looked back and forth between Yui and Shunkaku who were now glaring at each other so fiercely that anyone who got between them would have walked out with third-degree burns. "Oh, just the usual," Yui answered for herself, "That my ignoramus cousin was coming to live with me, what a complete asshole he is, how my life has been made miserable from this day forward, and exactly why he's here in the first place. I mean, they have the right to know when a criminal is in their midst right?"

In a way Shunkaku was glad, because Kaen suddenly withdrew from his arm. While Kaen and Yui weren't in any way friends, and she hadn't been told personally about the now infamous cousin that was coming to stay, she had heard what he had done. Being Catholic herself, it was worse.

"You're the unholy swine that.. That..." She gasped. Suddenly her face changed from surprised to affronted, "On second thought, I think you would fit in better with Ashlynn." Without looking at it, she began to brush off the arm that had been linked with his, as if he had contaminated her with something.

Shunkaku rolled his eyes and turned to leave. Behind him, Yui smirked at Kaen, "Just goes to show you that the most evil people can hide behind a beautiful face."

Kaen sneered at her, knowing perfectly well the comment was actually meant for her, and not Shunkaku. "You'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Hongo." She promptly turned on her heel and went to snatch one of the boys, Taka, from the basketball court. She still had him on her side, at least. Unconsciously she shivered, remembering how nice she had been to Shunkaku. Who'd have guess that he was the one who had vandalized the Cathedral in Newport?