Disclaimer: I only own this fic. I don't own any of the characters in it, damnit!

Rating: G, I guess?

Warnings: One mention of shounen-ai

Summary: Rikkai's thoughts on evil incarnate. Eighth (seventh chronologically) in the drabblethings series.

Author's notes: Another Rikkai drabblething. The drabblething list goes:

Times of Stress

Passing the Time

How to ask out Marui Bunta

Four Days Later

October Ice

Because I Love You

Evil

Further Nonsense

I know I'm not really writing these in chronological order… -sweatdrops- If it's confusing anyone, sorry!

It'd probably help if you read the ones that come before this first (especially 'October Ice'); otherwise parts of it might not make too much sense. You don't have to, though xD

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Niou yawned.

The world took absolutely no notice. Annoyed, Niou yawned again pointedly.

Still, the world moved on its merry way.

"I'm bored," he said crossly, giving up the subtle approach.

That got him some attention.

"Just hold on for ten minutes, alright? I promise I'll play a game of tennis with you once I've finished this essay," Yagyuu said quickly. A bored Niou was never, ever a good thing. Usually, he didn't give you any warning; you'd find out by falling over a cunningly hidden trap, or discovering that your lunch had been substituted for slugs (still living, as far as Yagyuu had been able to tell), or that your golf club had miraculously turned to rubber. At least when Kirihara was bored he'd give you a chance to rectify the situation by whining about it for a few minutes before setting off to find ways of solving the problem himself.

Niou scowled moodily, but agreed. "Alright."

Yagyuu nodded gratefully and turned to his essay with renewed determination.

"What's the essay on?" Mura asked curiously, peeking out from the top of the ridiculously oversized book he'd gotten out of the school library and brought outside to read by the tennis courts.

"Oh, we have to write about our views on the definition of evil," Yagyuu said vaguely.

Niou looked curious. "Yeah? What're your views, Hiroshi?"

"Hm? Oh, I don't know. I don't think evil really exists, personally. I think it's just a label that humanity gives to what they perceive as deviant behaviour," Yagyuu said, still writing.

Marui looked up from where he'd been drawing little faces on a tennis ball, lying comfortably on his stomach. "And in Japanese?"

"He means that 'evil' is just a word people use for things they strongly disapprove of," Mura explained.

"Ohh, right. Really? I don't think so."

"What do you think, then?" Niou asked. He still looked bored, but slightly less so. Yagyuu could feel his Niou-danger-sense fading a little.

Marui looked thoughtful, resting his chin on his forearms. "Um, I guess… evil's like, when people murder little children for no particular reason."

Niou shook his head. "Nah, that's not evil, that's just twisted."

"Twisted is evil, though."

Niou looked mildly affronted. "Hey! I'm twisted, but I'm not evil."

"Pft, that's a matter of opinion."

"Hey!"

"Ow! Stop it, you two," Yukimura scolded, wincing as a stray limb kicked the book out of his hands. Marui and Niou disentangled themselves and glared at each other.

"You made me swallow my gum," Marui said sulkily.

"So? You've got another ten packets in your bag."

"Yeah, but I've had that piece since last night! I was trying to see how long I could make it last!"

"… That's totally gross." Niou aimed a flick at Marui's forehead, but missed. "Did you sleep with it in your mouth?"

"No. I'd choke. I stuck it on the side of my bed for the night."

"I don't think that's entirely hygienic," Yagyuu said from behind a bright yellow sheet of paper. Marui shrugged it off with a carefree grin and took out another piece of bubblegum.

"What d'you think evil is, Mura?" he asked between chews.

Yukimura put down his book on the grass, using a leaf as a bookmark. His eyes got that slightly vacant look they often got when he was thinking carefully about something – the look that led people to believe that he was a bit absent-minded. They generally found out their mistake when they lost 6-0 to him on a tennis court.

"Well," he said slowly, "I think Yagyuu has a point, but maybe because evil is a label for unacceptably deviant behaviour, that is therefore the definition. Something that goes against humanity's perception of what should be the moral higher ground; our better nature."

"That's actually an interesting point," said Yagyuu, putting down his pen and looking thoughtfully at Yukimura. "I did consider that, but wouldn't that just bring it full circle? Surely it's simpler to define evil as a label, and leave it at that, rather than pursue the further implications of that further."

"Hmm, perhaps, but if you just leave it at that then the definition and perception of evil becomes rather less deep. It's difficult to…"

"Hey, Haru?" Marui whispered over the conversation. "Do you have a clue what they're talking about?"

"Kinda."

Marui snorted. "Huh. Well, I'm totally lost."

"That's cos you're not the brightest bun in the oven."

"I thought that was a euphemism for pregnancy?"

"In America, maybe. You watch too many English films."

Marui kicked him and Niou grinned.

"There's an easier way to solve this," Niou said loudly. Yukimura and Yagyuu both turned to look at him inquiringly. He turned his head and waved. "Oi, bratling! Come over here!"

Akaya was labouring under a large pile of books, and a pair of eyes peeked over the top of them to see who'd called. Not that he really needed to see to know who it was.

"M'not a bratling!" he yelled, but the effect was muffled by the books.

"Sure, right. What's your definition of evil incarnate?"

"My English teacher," Akaya scowled immediately, dropping the pile of books with a large thud next to Marui, who recoiled and protested. "She's not human. She told me to read all of these over the weekend! It's not fair! I'm just not good at English. Why can't she just see that instead of picking on me?"

"To be fair, you'd be good if you tried," said Yukimura reasonably. He received a sulky pout in reply.

"Do you want to know what my definition of evil incarnate is?" a voice said from just around the corner. Everyone looked up as Sanada arrived. He didn't look, as Marui would say, like a happy bunny.

"My definition of evil incarnate is a person who spends the entire morning in the detention room for unruly behaviour, then sneaks out at lunchtime to destroy the match records of the first-years, then tells the female population that Ke - Atobe is looking for a date. Who do you think that might be?"

Akaya eeped and ducked behind his boyfriend. As Sanada advanced menacingly, he decided that Marui wasn't quite big enough to stop the incoming explosion and quickly scrambled upright, narrowly dodging Sanada's grab at his shirt, and raced for the school gates, ignoring the books he'd left behind.

"I wouldn't bother to chase him, Genichiroh," Yukimura said. His face was serious, but his eyes were laughing.

"But…!"

"Just ban him from playing a match for a few days. He'll apologise soon enough."

"Mura!" Marui protested immediately. "That's not fair! Aka-chan didn't mean to… Well, he probably did, but he didn't mean any harm! Or… wait…" He blinked, then sighed. "Eh, might do him some good. But if he takes it out on me I'll double my sugar intake," he threatened. "Then Jackal won't be able to keep up with me."

"That is a pretty good example of evil incarnate," Niou muttered to Yukimura, who finally burst out laughing.

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Sandy: Dedicated to Pikke Wood, because she said that my fics make her happy xDD

(… If you're a boy, Pikke, I'm SO sorry! -.-; I'm just assuming you're a girl cos most of my readers are, so…)

Anywhoo, please review! You'll make my day :)