February 19th is Subaru's birthday! At least the TB/X one. I was originally going to do an one-shot for that but I was short of time. Actually, I only remembered about this a few days ago(*guilty* Subaru is your favourite character ever! How could you ever do this?!) and was freaking out over this. Up till yesterday, I was writing it until I finally snapped from this (and the upcoming three tests in less than 5 days) and decided to post this one instead.

Anyway, I had first written 'The School Doctor' for a Christmas piece and was really supposed to be a light-hearted piece, but something keeps on tempting me to go for the serious route instead. That's why I wasn't too satisfied with it, I think. :/ And probably because if I really want SeiSub to work, without the Seishirou there being the bastard he is in X and most possibly Tsubasa too, I had to resort to the more serious route. And while writing the first chapter, the colour of the Horitsuba Gakuen uniform just opened up a bunch of possibilities that I just felt like I have to write it. Some serious stuff, that is. I tried to keep it as light as possible though. ^^ We can't have another Tokyo Babylon in Horitsuba Gakuen, can we?

Bright red.

He thinks that the colour would fit him better. He doesn't know why he thinks that way before he ever saw him in that shade. But when he finally does, he realizes that beauty of the image he have in his mind is exactly the same when he sees it with his own two eyes.

How does he know that the colour would fit him so well?

He doesn't like the shade of red he usually sees him in. The dark red colour of the uniform. Maroon. It doesn't sit well with him. Yet, when he sees his twin sister wearing the uniform of the same colour, he does not feel this way. It is him, only that person that makes him feel the slightest annoyance towards that dark red colour.

Bright red. That shade of red… Like roses... or like camellias or like cherries. Or perhaps… blood. Not just any blood though. It's the shade of fresh blood.

He wants to see him in that shade of red. And only that shade of red… would he ever be satisfied.

"Uh, Seishirou-san, I probably won't be able to visit for a few days."

"Eh? Why is that, Subaru-kun?"

"Well…" Subaru scratched his head. "There is this literature paper that I have to work on and I have to do some research on it."

"Oh, is that so? And I wouldn't want to hinder Subaru-kun's academic results, would I? Take as long as you like to finish it up!"

"Thank you, Seishirou-san," he smiled gratefully at him. "I'm really sorry about this."

"No problems, Subaru-kun!" Seishirou waved it off. "Besides if we keep hanging out here, Yuuko-sensei would complain that I'm hogging one of her precious students all to myself."

Subaru didn't come to visit. That was to be expected of course, considering that he had mentioned about the research paper just the day before. Yet, Seishirou felt mildly disappointed as he glanced at the clock. It had been thirty minutes since the school bell ended. Most of the time, Subaru would have made it into the infirmary before fifteen minutes had managed to pass. That is, if he didn't have class duty that day.

Seishirou sighed. Utterly bored, he pulled out the book that had been gathering dust in the drawer. He paused. The bookmark was still tacked page 32, untouched from the moment Subaru had entered the infirmary for the second time. He shook his head slightly and began to read it.

When he finished reading the book, he gave the clock another glance and decided to reread it again.

Just one more hour until he was done for the day.

"Thank you, Seishirou-sensei." Himawari smiled.

"You're welcome, Himawari-chan. Be careful with that arm, alright?"

"Yes. I'm so sorry to get some of the blood on your coat, sensei."

He waved his blood-stained right sleeve off nonchalantly. "Oh no, that's no problem at all, Himawari-chan. I'll just get it dry-cleaned at the end of the week."

"Seishirou-sensei, you keep everything clean, don't you?" she pointed out with a small laugh before giving a brief glance around the room. "By the way, where is Subaru-san? I thought he's usually here?"

"Subaru-kun has to do research for his homework, so he wouldn't be visiting the infirmary for a while."

"Oh, that's too bad. It must be rather lonely with his absence now."

"Exactly. It has only been two days. I hadn't expected it to be so alone without him here." He wept tragically.

"Well, the two of you are really close, so I'm sure the feeling is mutual. Subaru-san would probably try to finish his homework as fast as possible. If not," she paused, thinking, "I'm sure Hokuto-san mentioned just now that he has been in one of the libraries around here recently."

Giving yet another smile, she got up and left.

In the now empty room, Seishirou sat back on his chair. Kunogi Himawari. It was the first time he had met her but she was really like a sunflower, just like her name. The implied suggestion she gave was also very interesting. The library… He glanced at the book he had finished in the first day of Subaru's absence. He decided to accept the girl's suggestion.

When he arrived at the school library, he was surprised to find it more crowded than usual. The library was usually quite empty with only a few people around but now. He noted that most of the people were at the reference section. Yuuko had most likely sprung the research paper up on them.

He returned the book he borrowed before starting to search for a new one. He passed the reference section, making sure to scan each of the students' face carefully. Subaru wasn't here. He frowned as he checked again. Shaking his head, he concluded that the student was in another library instead and then started to make his way to the other sections.

Hmm… He had already read enough fiction, so perhaps he should go for a non-fiction this time. He recalled that what Subaru had mentioned the first day he had met him. Hmm, maybe a book about animals would be good, he thought as he walked over to the science section. Turning around the corner, he blinked and stopped.

He did not expect to see a familiar figure there between two bookshelves, by the window.

The student was leaning against the window, head tilted down as emerald eyes immersed themselves into the thick book he held in his left hand. The other hand was tracing the words on the page, fingers deftly turning the page as the intense eyes reached the end of the page. The afternoon light filtered through the window, falling on the raven, highlighting the silky strands of hair and making the uniform look almost orange. Other than the soft rustling of the pages, it was quiet.

Seishirou inhaled, taking a moment to burn the almost celestial image into his mind.

"Subaru-kun." He murmured the name softly. As if he was afraid to break the ethereal atmosphere surrounding the young boy.

The student slowly lifted his head to meet Seishirou's golden gaze and the older man momentarily thought of the saying 'Eyes are the windows to one's soul'. The emerald eyes that were looking at him right then were calm and clear. Seishirou was suddenly hit with an image of a grown-up Subaru. A Subaru that was stripped of his childish innocence and all the other emotions that had always been evident in his ever so expressive eyes. And what was left was the perfect tranquility of his heart.

This was a Subaru that had laid himself bare, without the cloud of emotions that usually confused and made him put aside himself for the others. Gone was the innocent and smiling Subaru. What was there was the mature and peace in the pure, fragile accepting soul.

Beautiful. Exquisite. Tempting.

He wondered what it would take to remove the innocence that occupied such a large part of the boy's heart and permanently change him into that ethereal being again. The older man took a step forward, reaching out with a hand. The clear green eyes were studying him, watching his movements, but otherwise, the student didn't move.

What would it be like to destroy this pure innocence of his?

When he finally touched Subaru's cheeks though, something seemed to break.

Subaru jerked back from the touch, blinking as the green eyes clouded over with emotions again and Seishirou found it regretful that he lost that perfect tranquility. "Seishirou-san! I'm sorry, I was out of sorts."

Seishirou smiled at him. "That's quite alright, Subaru-kun. Though, I believe you were doing a literature paper? Why were you at the science section?"

"Ah, I actually finished it a few hours ago, but there was this part in the research where it was about animals and I somehow just ended up here." Scratching his head sheepishly, he closed the thick book and placed it back on the shelf.

"You've finished your paper already? I would have expected you to take another few days. Was the deadline for the paper that tight?"

"Ah, no, the deadline is fine. I was just hoping to finish it faster, so I spent a lot of time on it," Subaru explained, blinking and rubbing his eyes slightly.

"Oh? Why would you do that, Subaru-kun? You could have taken your time."

Subaru blushed lightly as he suddenly looked down on the floor. "Um, I sort of wanted to finish it quickly so I'll have more time to spend in the infirmary…"

Seishirou blinked. Kunogi Himawari was right. Interesting. He grinned at the emerald-eyed boy. "Why, Subaru-kun, you want to spend more time with me?"

The blush deepened as he gave a rigid nod in reply.

"Excellent. Well then, Subaru-kun, what do you say to a little tea date right now?"

He looked up, wide eyed. "D-Date?"

Seishirou nodded happily. "Yes, it just so happens that it's about time for tea and I'm eager for something sweet. How about it, Subaru-kun?"

"Eh? Ahh, sure, Seishirou-san. Whatever you say." Seishirou smiled at the response and Subaru started walking towards him. His eyes narrowed slightly when the student stepped out of the afternoon light, revealing the original maroon colour of the uniform. Really, maybe he should make a suggestion to Yuuko about that colour.

Just as he was thinking about this, the boy suddenly stumbled. Seishirou caught him before he fell. "Subaru-kun? Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, just a little tired," he replied, holding the front of Seishirou's shirt for support. "I didn't get enough sleep last night. Too much coffee."

The doctor furrowed his eyebrows together worriedly. "Ah, then it might be better for you to rest now. Let's forget about the tea."

"B-But-" he protested feebly, burying his head into his shirt as he shook his head.

"Shh, Subaru-kun, sleep. I'll take care of you," he whispered soothingly. As if reassured, the emerald eyes closed themselves off to a deep sleep.

That picture haunts him.

The two clear green eyes staring calmly at him haunt him. He cannot forget that image. He doesn't know why but he thinks it's beautiful. The green pools revealing the inner nature of his soul, the calmness and tranquility of his pure heart.

And then there are the emotions that usually fill up the depth of the eyes. These tend to cloud over the quiet nature of his soul. That is not to say that he doesn't find these eyes beautiful. They express the emotions the boy feels in the purest form there is. And that is beautiful.

He feels the urge to destroy.

But whether it is the urge to destroy the beauty of the soul or the veil of emotions concealing it, he does not know.

What he does know is that, if he were given a chance to destroy – no matter what chance it is, no matter what consequences there will be – he will do it.

Seishirou was sipping a cup of tea beside him when Subaru opened his eyes. The student sat up, rubbing his eyes blearily. The first thing he noticed was that he was on one of the beds in the infirmary – or more specifically the bed he was on the first time he sprained his ankle and met Seishirou – and the second was that the sky outside was dark. The sun had already set.

"Good, you're awake now," Seishirou said, putting the cup down on the nearby table. "Did you have a good rest?"

"Ah, yes." He blinked, remembering what happened in the library. "Thank you, Seishirou-san. Did I sleep long?"

"You're quite welcome and you slept for quite a bit, Subaru-kun. It's approaching eight," he replied. "I must say, I was getting worried that you wouldn't be getting up."

"Eh? It's already so late? You could have woken me up, Seishirou-san! I wouldn't want to keep you so late in school."

"I couldn't possibly dare to disturb you when you're sleeping so soundly, could I?" Seishirou flashed a smile. "After all, it is rare to see my beloved Subaru-kun's adorable face when he sleeps."

"Seishirou-san!" His face was turning pink. "You're teasing me again."

"Oh, but I'm serious, Subaru-kun." A strong hand grasped his chin, tilting his head upwards to meet a pair of honey gold eyes. "Didn't I tell you before? I love you."

"Seishirou-san…" Entranced by the molten gold eyes and he could only stare back.

"Subaru-kun…" Seishirou leaned in and whispered, merely a few inches away.

When Subaru finally registered the warm breath brushing lightly against his face and the close proximity their faces were, his face lit up with a ferocious blush as he pulled back. Seishirou laughed and ruffled his head, slyly sliding his arm around his waist and pulling him off the bed and onto his lap. He was rewarded with a flustered squeak as the student grabbed the front of his shirt for balance.

"You're so cute, Subaru-kun," he said as he placed a kiss on the top of his head affectionately, his arm pushing the lithe body against his.

"S-S-Sei-Seishirou-s-san?"

"Yes, Subaru-kun?" He grinned, noticing as the boy's ear turned red.

"U-Um, why are we- Um, this position-"

"Does it bother you?"

"N-No…"

"Then it's fine."

After a few moments, Subaru took the courage to place his head on Seishirou's shoulder and when he found that the older man didn't seem to mind, he relaxed himself. He stared out of the window, noticing the moonlight spilling in from the glass window, highlighting a maroon jacket and a tie. Seishirou must have taken them off him before putting him on the bed, Subaru realized with a faint blush. The moon hanging high up in the sky seemed to emphasis the fact that he was in the arms of the school doctor in the school infirmary during the silent night. A fact that caused Subaru to feel extremely nervous and embarrassed.

It felt as though they were doing something forbidden.

He blinked and slapped himself mentally for even thinking about that. Seishirou-san wouldn't possibly-

"Subaru-kun."

He jumped slightly at the call of his name, horrified for the first half of a second that Seishirou had somehow read his mind. "Y-Yes!"

"What do you think of your school uniform?"

"Eh? What do I think…"

"Do you like it?"

"Huh? Uh, I suppose I do… I mean the colour is nice and Hokuto-chan didn't seem to be complaining about that either."

"What about if the uniform was bright red in colour? Would you like it better?"

"I wouldn't know until I try it. But isn't the uniform is fine as it is now?"

"I see."

"Why?" Subaru lifted his head, turning slightly to look at the doctor.

Seishirou grinned brightly at him. "I was thinking that I could file a complaint letter to Yuuko-sensei so that she'll change the uniform. And then I'll be able to see Subaru-kun in that brilliant red again!"

"Eh?"

"Subaru-kun, you look extremely delicious in that red outfit you showed up in during the movies!" As if to emphasis his point, Seishirou ran his hand down along Subaru's spine while blowing lightly at his ear.

Subaru yelped in shock. "Seishirou-san!"

He could only laugh.

"Subaru!" His sister commanded as they walked through the school hallway. "Tell me!"

"…" Subaru started to walk faster, keeping his head down as the other students started paying attention to the twins.

"Subaru! Tell your Nee-san! What did you two do until so late last night? Did Sei-chan take advantage of you?"

The students in the hallway suddenly erupted with whispers and the tips of the younger twin's ear started turning red. "Hokuto-chan, don't speak so loud. Nothing happened."

"Then, there's no reason for you to blush, is there?"

"… Hokuto-chan…" he didn't know what else to say and could only plead silently for Hokuto to let him off.

"Geez, fine! I'll just go ask Sei-chan!"

Hearing Hokuto's footsteps running off in the direction of the infirmary, Subaru breathed a sigh of relief. He loved his sister, but there were just things that he didn't know how to explain. He just hoped Seishirou would clear it up with Hokuto.

He opened the door to his classroom only to see three boys right in front of him. He blinked at the concerned look Watanuki gave him.

"Subaru-san, I heard that yesterday, Seishirou-sensei took advantage of you. Are you okay?" Syaoran asked worriedly.

Sometimes, Subaru wondered how the news seemed to travel at the speed of light in this academy.

"It's a misunderstanding, Syaoran-kun. Seishirou-san couldn't possibly do that."

"But all the students saw Seishirou-sensei carry you out of the library and into the infirmary when you were unconscious! Not to mention that he locked the infirmary door afterwards! He really didn't do anything?"

His face was red. "Seishirou wouldn't do anything like that. He only let me sleep in the infirmary for a few hours because I needed it…" He decided not to mention about the hug.

"… Really? He seems like the type who would. Especially if the opportunity presents itself." Doumeki said. "Besides, how would you know if he did anything if you were unconscious?"

"Ahh! Don't say this sort of things, Doumeki! Subaru-san, don't pay attention to him!" Watanuki waved his arms out wildly.

Subaru realized that he didn't have anything to say to that and spent the rest of his day mulling over that possibility while blushing.

At the same time his twin had reached the infirmary.

"Sei-chan!" She flung the door open, effectively stunning the school doctor from his files.

"Hokuto-chan, what can I do for you today?"

She threw herself onto the nearest sickbed, grinning. "Sei-chan, so I heard Subaru was in the infirmary with you until late last night."

Seishirou grinned back at his sister. "So I did."

"Did you do anything?"

Seishirou's grin grew wider. "If you consider him being on my lap and us being pressed against each other for the majority of the time." The twin let out a shriek of happiness. "I was tempted of course, to take him right there, but I had to resist myself. The possibility of getting one angry sister's wrath might be horrifying after all."

Hokuto laughed. "What are you saying, you perverted future brother-in-law of mine! I'm the one who's setting up the wedding between you and my brother, aren't I?"

"Of course, of course. But Hokuto-chan, I'm quite surprised. I'm a doctor and he's a student. Do you really not mind it if this old geezer here took Subaru-kun just like this?"

"It's fine! As long as Subaru's happy with it, it's fine."

"How would you know that, Hokuto-chan?"

"Well, it's the eyes, I guess."

"Pardon?"

"The eyes." Hokuto looked out of the window. "Subaru has always treated everyone kindly and equally, but he doesn't let people to cross the line into his soul because there is no one he would really consider as 'special'." She paused, as if to let the statement sink in. "But that one time I saw you two on the bed…

"The reserved Subaru I knew would back away from any intimate contact. Especially if the person was someone he only met in less than a few hours. His eyes." She turned at looked at him with intensity, green eyes completely serious for once. "They were looking at me like there was nothing wrong with being in the arms of someone he only just knew – someone who was practically a stranger – as if it was perfectly natural. Subaru wants this, he doesn't know it, but he does, subconsciously."

He raised an eyebrow. "You would allow someone like me to get close to Subaru-kun just because of that?"

"Well, of course, if you ever hurt him," she pulled out a sharpened pencil as she continued, putting emphasis on each word sweetly," I will kill you."

There was a moment of silence before Seishirou spoke. "You're very protective of your brother, aren't you Hokuto-chan?"

She put the pencil back in her pocket and grinned. "Of course, that's the job of the big sister!

"But Sei-chan, you already know that Subaru is 'special', don't you?"

"Of course," he murmured, "there isn't someone else with a more pure soul around."

"That's not what I mean." Hokuto shook her head. "I meant to you, Sei-chan. Subaru is already 'special' to you, isn't he?"

That statement was met with silence.

The school bell rang and Hokuto jumped off the bed in shock. "Crap, I'm late! I'll talk to you later, Sei-chan!"

"Have a nice day, Hokuto-chan!" he called after her as she dashed out of the room.

"Oh, Sei-chan, you better clean off that blood on your sleeve before Subaru sees it! And remember, don't give up on courting my brother!" He could hear her shouting the words out as she ran.

Seishirou watched as the door closed itself and as the sound of footsteps disappeared.

If he hurt Subaru, Hokuto would kill him. And there was also the part where Hokuto believed that Subaru consider him 'special' and vice versa.

How peculiar.

He has never known himself to be a particularly violent person. He doesn't feel the need to harm others. The others are simply of no concern to him. Which is fine by him. He enjoys his little life without concerning himself with the other humans. And he expects others to do the same.

He has never known himself to be capable of love. Oh, perhaps affection but never love. He doesn't find himself being troubled by it. He doesn't understand the need of such an emotion when humans are capable of living their life fully without it. He doesn't understand the romance novels that are the most popular among females. But it doesn't matter, it was rather amusing to read the various interpretations of it in any case.

That shade of red.

The two eyes that show the pure soul underneath all the emotions.

Yet, he feels the urge to destroy. The urge to be violent. All aimed at just one person. He knows the reason why though. He wants to have him. To know him thoroughly and every aspect of him. He doesn't like others to touch him, to harm him. He doesn't like others to know him. He wants the boy for himself. It's not love though—those novels always describe it as pure and selfless, wanting the person to be happy. No, it's not love. If it has to be called something, it will probably be called an obsession.

The boy is his.

He wants him to know that.

Else, he wouldn't be satisfied.

"Subaru-san, so nothing really happened, yesterday?" Syaoran questioned, sweeping the empty classroom.

"No, nothing at all!"

"But you two seem really close. I mean, none of the students actually drop the '-sensei' and you call him with a '-san'," Watanuki pointed out.

"That's because he asked me not to. He says that he doesn't like the students to call him with '-sensei'."

"Seishirou-sensei never asked us to drop it." Doumeki informed him as Syaoran and Watanuki nodded.

"Huh?"

"When did he ask you?"

"Uh… The day you and Watanuki-kun brought me to the infirmary with my sprained ankle."

"... The first time they meet and he asks him to drop the '-sensei'…" Doumeki mumbled.

"I think Seishirou-sensei does like Subaru-san." A new voice piped up and the four turned to see the chemistry teacher outside the classroom leaning on the window sill, hands propped up under his chin.

"Fai-sensei!" The students greeted the carefree blonde teacher.

"Are you all talking about Seishirou-sensei and Subaru-san?"

"Yeah. Subaru-san is insisting nothing is between them but Seishirou-sensei doesn't act like it."

"Is that the problem? Then that's easy, we'll just spy on Seishirou-sensei~"

"Huh?"

"Yuuko-sensei installed cameras throughout the school compound, even in the infirmary. If we just spy on him when he's conversing with Subaru-san, then we'll know if Seishirou-sensei is putting any moves on Subaru-san," he explained breezily.

"HUH?" Subaru blinked. Cameras in Seishirou-san's infirmary?

"You can't do that, Fai-sensei!" Watanuki and Syaoran protested.

Subaru looked down. If there were cameras in the infirmary… did that mean that Yuuko might have seen what they were doing the night before? He paused. Even if she did… it wasn't like it was against the law either, there was nothing wrong with it… Was there?

"Eh~? Why not?"

"Even if the infirmary is a school compound… That's like invading Seishirou-sensei's privacy!"

But then, if Yuuko-sensei saw it, she might take it the other way…

"Eh~? It would such a good idea too."

"Um," Subaru spoke up. "I'm sorry, but I have to go now."

"Hmm~? Visiting Seishirou-sensei?"

"Ah, yes." Subaru blushed slightly under the sudden heavy gaze of four people on him.

"Then take care~"

"See you tomorrow then, Subaru-san!"

Subaru nodded, grabbing his bag and making his way to the infirmary. He did not notice the mischievous grin the chemistry teacher had on his face, deep in his thoughts.

No no, wait… Yuuko-sensei wouldn't possibly put in cameras throughout the school anyway, would she? But he had never known Fai-sensei to be the type of teacher to lie… If the events last night were really seen and taken the wrong way… He blushed at the thought and shook the idea away as he opened the door to the infirmary.

"Subaru-kun, you seemed rather flushed today. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine. It's just the entire student body was talking about yesterday…" He closed the door behind him and went to sit on the usual spot on the bed.

"Yesterday? You mean the intimate late-night stay the two of us had?"

He reddened at the memory. "Um, well, yesterday, all the students saw you carry me in and when they knew that we stayed rather late in the infirmary, everyone just…" Subaru covered his face in his hands.

"Do you mean that you find it embarrassing to be caught in a rumour with me, Subaru-kun?"

Subaru snapped his head up in shock. "No, Seishirou-san! That's not-"

"I'm glad." Seishirou smiled as he walked over to sit next to the student. "Oh yes, that reminds me, Hokuto-chan came over this morning."

"Oh, thank you for clearing things up with my sister, Seishirou-san."

"Anything for my Subaru-kun." He leaned in as another light blush spread themselves on Subaru's cheeks. "Speaking of which, I was having a little chat with Hokuto-chan before she went for her class and she told me something rather interesting."

"Something interesting?"

"Subaru-kun, do you like my company?" He put an arm around the student's waist, pulling him closer as the latter gulped and nodded. "Do you like me?"

Subaru nodded.

"Who do you like more, Hokuto-chan or me?"

Subaru blinked and looked up in horror. "Seishirou-san, you couldn't possibly ask me to choose!"

"Oh, I can't?" He looked hurt. "I was merely wondering what place I hold in your heart."

"That's…" Subaru looked down. "Hokuto-chan is family. It's not fair to compare like this."

"Then who would you compare?"

"That's…" He stared at his lap before mumbling, "…ke that…"

"Pardon?"

Seishirou could feel the tension in the student as he repeated, louder this time. "Thereisnobodylikethat!"

"Subaru-kun? What do you mean?"

When Subaru didn't reply, Seishirou lifted his chin and stared into him. Subaru's face was pink and once he met Seishirou's eyes, he quickly averted it, flicking it to anywhere that wasn't the man in front of him.

"Subaru-kun…" He smoothed his tone to one of a gentle one, using the arm around his waist to pull him closer. "Look at me."

Emerald eyes slowly turned back to face him, a silent emotion in them. A certain longing.

The older twin's words from the morning drifted back to him. Subaru wants this, he doesn't know it, but he does, subconsciously.

Inhaling slightly, the older man leaned in. He placed his lips against his cheek, gauging his reaction. The student's eyelashes fluttered themselves close shyly and Seishirou took it as an approval. Without leaving the skin, he trailed his lips down to press firmly against another pair. He could feel the sharp intake of breath at the contact, but the student didn't back away and only lean in to his touch.

After a few seconds, Seishirou separated the two of them and smiled gently at the younger boy. "Was that your first kiss, Subaru-kun?"

The pink blush deepened as the student dropped his gaze onto his lap again. Seishirou laughed. "Well then, perhaps I should thank Hokuto-chan for that little morning visit or perhaps even Yuuko-sensei for that giving assignment, no matter how indirect it was."

Subaru was about to say something when Fai's words floated back to him. Yuuko-sensei installed cameras throughout the school compound, even in the infirmary. His eyes widened and he stood up in panic, leaving Seishirou's arm to cradle empty air. "Seishirou-san! Fai-sensei mentioned that Yuuko-sensei put cameras in the infirmary!"

Seishirou blinked at the sudden outburst and dropped his arm. "Oh, the cameras. Do you mean that?" he pointed at the camera placed at the top corner of the room.

"Seishirou-san, y-you knew?"

"Of course, this is my infirmary. I ought to know what's being placed inside it."

Subaru felt the faintest bit of betrayal. He opened his mouth as if to say something and closed it after a moment. Then, he tried again. "Seishirou-san… Wh-What if Yuuko-sensei saw that?"

He looked like he was about to die of sheer horror and mortification and Seishirou had to resist a laugh. "Don't worry about that, Subaru-kun. I disabled it yesterday when I brought you in." When that sentence fully sank in and the student started to calm down, Seishirou added, "Why, Subaru-kun, you are embarrassed to be caught in a rumour with me after all. I'm quite hurt." He raised his arm and pretended to wipe his tears away dejectedly.

"That's not what I-" Subaru stopped short as his eyes caught something on the doctor's sleeve. He grabbed the doctor's right hand. "Seishirou-san! That's-! Are you alright?"

Blinking, he glanced down on his captured hand.

Oh. He had forgotten to follow Hokuto's suggestion and wash the blood off the sleeve. He started to reassure the worried student. "It's Himawari-chan's blood. The blood got onto me when I was treating her. I'm fine, Subaru-kun."

He looked up at Seishirou before dropping his gaze on the sleeve, only then noticing that the blood had already dried off. "Oh… I see. I-I'm sorry for overreacting…"

"It's no problem at all, Subaru-kun!" he replied cheerfully, "I'm happy that you're so worried about me!"

He was about to remove his hand from the student's grasp before noticing something. The dried blood on his sleeve look surprisingly similar to the colour of Subaru's uniform. Dark red. Maroon.

"I wonder why…" The sound of Subaru's voice jolted him back to the present. The student was tracing the red spot on the white sleeve thoughtfully. "When you usually bleed, the colour is bright red but yet, after a while, the colour becomes a dark red?"

"… Subaru-kun?"

"…" The student didn't seem to hear him, only kept staring at the red spot.

"It feels as though the bright red would mean that the person is still alive and breathing and the latter, dead, don't you think?" Seishirou replied.

When Subaru didn't reply, the doctor paused and ran through the last sentence, wondering if he had said anything wrong. He furrowed his eyebrows together as he looked at the student still gazing fixedly at the dried blood and then the uniform. The maroon of the uniform really did look identical to the colour of the dried blood.

Finally, Subaru raised his head and looked at Seishirou, a pained smile on his face. "Somehow, that seems kind of ironic."

The emerald eyes staring at him were sad and clear but accepting. It reminded Seishirou of the Subaru he had seen in the library. His hands itched and he felt something building up.

"Ironic? How?" His own voice sounded… different. Almost emotional.

"Eh? Well, bright red would mean it's a fresh injury and the person is hurting but yet its shows that the person is alive. It's like only by making sure that the person can be hurt, it's the proof that he is alive… While dark red…" he trailed off, looking at the older man's face in concern. "Seishirou-san?"

He stood up.

"Yuuko-sensei~" Fai opened the door of the chairman's office. "Eh~ Hokuto-chan and Kuropi-sensei is here too?"

The older twin waved her hand at the intruder while the gym teacher slammed down the cup of tea he held in his hands. "It's Kurogane!"

"My, Fai-sensei, we were just having tea. Come in, come in." The literature teacher sat at the office chair, sipping on her tea. "I was just talking to Hokuto-chan."

"Actually, Yuuko-sensei," Fai started once he sat down, swerving the office chair he sat on slightly. "I came in because of Seishirou-sensei and Subaru-san!"

It was at this part when Hokuto piped up. "That was exactly what I was discussing with Yuuko-sensei just now! They just had a romantic late-night stay in the school yesterday! The perfect environment!" The vivacious sister stood up suddenly, her hands clenched into fist as she complained, "And what did Sei-chan do? Nothing! What a waste!"

Yuuko shook her head in disappointment. "Listening to Hokuto-chan complain about Seishirou-sensei makes me feel upset with him."

"That's exactly it! My brother should get over his shyness and Sei-chan should just pounce on him! At this rate, nothing will ever happen between these two!"

"Here here!" Fai raised his hand up excitedly. "I suggest we use Yuuko-sensei's cameras and spy on them to check their progress!"

Hokuto stared at him for a moment before running over to catch the blonde's hands with hers. "Fai-sensei, that is a brilliant idea!"

"Hmph! That doctor probably removed all those bugs and cameras." Kurogane poured the rest of the tea down.

"Nope! Seishirou-sensei missed out some of them!" Yuuko replied cheerfully. "He disabled the main camera but what he doesn't know is that that is not the only camera in the infirmary!"

Hokuto's green eyes glinted. "Then we could spy on them then?"

Yuuko gave a mischievious grin. "Of course!"

She whipped out a remote control and pressed a button. A wide screen immediately lowered and images of the infirmary room started to be displayed. Subaru was holding the doctor's red-stained sleeve and staring fixedly at it.

"What, you guys are really gonna do this?" Kurogane poured another cup of tea.

"Of course, if not, I wouldn't have pulled down the screen, would I?"

"With that doctor's personality, he wouldn't let himself be caught."

"My, Kurogane-sensei, so you think that Seishirou-sensei will do something?"

"That's not it! I'm saying that if he will, he wouldn't let himself be caught."

In the display, said brother lifted his head to meet Seishirou's eyes with a small smile.

"Hey, Kurowanwan-sensei, pour me a cup of tea too!"

"You can do it yourself and my name is Kurogane!"

Hokuto frowned. "I thought I told Sei-chan to wash that off before Subaru sees it…" she muttered but stopped suddenly as she stared at the screen.

"Hmm, what's wrong, Hokuto-chan…" the chemistry teacher trailed off as he turned his attention back to the screen, his ever present smile slipping for once. "Oh."

"Kurogane-sensei," Yuuko started, amused as her red eyes looked fixedly at the image. "Did you say something about Seishirou-sensei just now?"

"Huh? I said that he wouldn't let- Oi, why are all three of you looking-" He turned to see what they were looking and his eyes almost bulged out of his sockets.

Seishirou had his arm around the student's waist and was kissing him passionately. One could not help but notice that Subaru's arms were coming around the older man's neck as if to deepen the kiss.

It was Hokuto who had broken the silence. "MY GOD SEI-CHAN, GOOD JOB! OHOHOHO! GO FOR IT!"

"Well, that was unexpected," the blonde commented as he smiled goofily at the screen.

"Indeed." Amusement was crackling in the chairman's eyes.

"WHY ARE YOU GUYS STILL WATCHING THEM?"

"That's because this is interesting, don't you think so, Kuropon-sensei?"

Seishirou's hand was exploring dangerously down Subaru's back.

"Voyeurism is fun, isn't it, Fai-sensei?"

"BUT YOU CAN'T LET A STUDENT WATCH THIS!"

"Eh, isn't it fine, Kurogane-sensei?" Yuuko pouted. "Hokuto-chan is enjoying herself after all."

The gym teacher looked at the gleeful and almost dreamy expression on the ever cheerful girl and shook his head. He couldn't stay with this company anymore.

"A demon and a witch with a lunatic…"

"Did you say something, Kurogane-sensei?"

He took one more look at the screen and the flush expression on Subaru's face was enough to convince him to leave the room.

The next day, the entire school was in chaos.

He doesn't like that shade of red on him. Maroon. The colour that is like dried blood. The colour when the person that is no longer breathing and no longer alive. He doesn't like to see him in the colour of death – or at least the colour that reminds him of death. It doesn't sit well with him. He has never cared if a person wears that colour. Not his own mother. Not any of the people he has the pleasure of meeting. Not even the one who shares the same face as him. Others are simply of no concern to him.

He prefers the shade of bright red on him. Fresh blood. The colour when the person is still breathing and fresh warm blood that is coursing through the body. He likes to see that colour on him. He realizes that he feels the urge to be violent when it comes to him. He feels like hurting him, spilling the bright red colour onto his pale skin. Spilling the boy's own blood onto his own skin. Fresh blood.

He also feels the urge to be violent for an entirely different reason. If he is to be stained, changed, tainted, he wants to be the one who does it. He will not let any other person do it. He will be the one who leaves his mark on the pure soul.

He wonders at times. If he is to face a time where the boy is to be stained with that detestable colour, what will he do? What will he give not to see that dark colour on him? What will he do while making sure that he owns the boy and that he knows it?

It's an obsession. He will keep it to the minimum but if something else dares to threaten the boy, he imagines that he will find it perfectly fine to release this obsession. It doesn't matter to him what becomes of the boy if everything is done by him and him only.

But for now, it's fine to keep things like this.

When I was typing this 'And what was left was the prefect tranquility of his heart', I couldn't help but think 'inner peace, yo. Kungfu panda, anyone?' I'm sorry for the randomness. XD But that library scene, I have this wonderful image in my mind as I was writing it and I hope I managed to convey it properly. He was supposed to be something like X!Subaru without the brokenness courtesy of Seishirou but with the pure gaze of TRC!Subaru, except more 'accepting' than 'kind'. Hmm… It's quite hard to phrase what I meant.

About the Hokuto/Seishirou thing. I've once came across this author who described their significance to Subaru like this. 'He wouldn't change Hokuto for the world. But he would change Seishirou for the world.' This line really impacted me a lot and if you know which author mentioned this, it would be great if you would tell me?

Anyway, how was this? Please drop a review if possible!