Triad

Chapter 1

Thin Ice

' ' - thoughts
" " - speeches


A chilling December breeze slides through the narrow gap between a window sill and a pane, causing the frilly beige curtain to flutter gently. The wind is frosty, almost chilling to the bones. However the temperature in the room is somehow further reduced by a factor of ten due to its two occupants. Silence rules the Treasury room, which seems to intensify the chillness of the atmosphere.

Clank.

A sound of the base of a finely-crafted china cup touching the same well-crafted smooth surface of the saucer breaks the overwhelming silence, and jolts the two students out of whatever the trail of thoughts their busy minds are following. Yet, tension still lingers in the air. Not a word is spoken, well at least out of disagreement or argument, but not to jeopardize their current situation further.

It is almost noon now, nonetheless the temperature just fluctuates by one or two degrees and the cold breeze gains in its intensity. Every now and then, whooshing sounds of the wind forcing through the narrow gap can be heard. The tension in the air becomes almost unbearable.

Click. Click. Click.

The monotonous sound of typing the keyboard comes from the table in the middle corner of the room. The room is spacious with enough ventilation to maintain a friendly atmosphere; the furniture in the room includes a three-seat auburn leather sofa and two one-seat ones which surround a ornamented wooden tea table with a transparent surface, an ordinary table on which a LG modeled desktop and a printer is placed and a book shelf in the left hand corner of the room.

On the leather sofa, there seated a male student who is infamously entitled as ‘the Queen’ of the BL Academy (Bell Liberty Academy), or sometimes being addressed at as Kaoru-chan by the loud-mouth King. This is Saionji Kaoru: a beauty, a queen and a student. He possesses an aura of ethereal beauty which makes it such a waste to categorize him as a male. As if to further magnify his beauty, his chocolate brown curls, that reach the shoulder blades, sway with the gentle breeze. His clear jade green eyes hold a look that could make a person shivers in unknown anticipation; the green of the eyes is too pure and clear to withhold any emotion within and to overlook any feelings hidden in others likewise.

Leaning back on the couch, he savours the oolong green tea; his eyes close with long eye lashes flutter every now and them. Averagely built, yet his lithe body is defined by supple muscles which are hidden underneath his pure white uniform that makes him stand out from the rest of the students. His exterior appearance seems to be that of a composed and calm person, and yet a raging battle is going on.

'How could he do that to me? Say something you thick-headed idiot.' He growled mentally; a subtle twitch of the thin eyebrows can be overlooked if one doesn’t pay attention. 'Seriously, he’s the stupidest, most dim-witted and brain-dead intellectual ever. Dammit, Omi.' Sighing mentally he comments on himself, somehow feeling like a hypocrite. 'Now I really sound like a love-struck and giggly school girl, not that I’m not acting or feeling like one but it’s just not me. Well, it’s that idiot fault that I’m feeling like banging my head on the nearest wall and pull my hair out. Is he that always so un-emotional and so obedient that he doesn’t really care to criticize what I do with my life? Don’t you care about me? Don’t you like me? Well, don’t you love me?' He wants to ask it out loud, yet he refrains asking it in case just one question would earn him the title of ‘the-stupidest-love-struck-homo-who-falls-in-love-with-the-equally-stupidest-and-unemotional-people-ever’. Not that he cares anyway, but he got an image of a demure and composed Queen to uphold, not to mention giving heart attack to those in the secret fan club of the Academy Queen.

'Sigh.' Before he can realize what he’s doing, he subconsciously lets out a rather loud sigh which immediately earns the attention of another occupant of the room. 'Oh no,' he grimaced inwardly.

"Kaoru," a deep yet quiet voice comes from a person sitting in front of the computer screen that blinks intermittently, "What’s the matter? Are you okay?" His voice is laced with apparent concern and care, but most likely to be originated from affection between friends – and this is what irritates Karou ‘the most’.

"Umm, I’m okay. Don’t worry." Karou replied somewhat nonchalantly, afraid that his voice might give away the raging deep emotions that are swimming in his head right now. 'Liar. You are definitely not okay,' he chided himself accusingly. 'Well at least not while you’re brooding over how you’d like to caress that toned and muscled abdominal 6 packs' (which he secretly peeps and un-characteristically drools at during almost every PE lessons, not that he participates though since he’s the Queen and the striving and tedious actions seem unfit for a beautiful queen like him), 'how you’d like to lace your tongue around that enticing lips, how you’d like to ravish the well-endowed pride of his hidden between the soft silver curls' (this of course he fantasizes almost every night ‘shamefully’) 'and how you’d like to be filled by that hea….. whoa, and I seriously need to punch myself hard to thinking such lecherous and perverted thoughts.' Sigh, again but this time he manages to keep within his mental vicinity luckily.

"Okay then. But if there’s something bothering you, you can always tell me, ne?" Omi speaks up again; his deep mellow tone carries a subtle lasciviousness unbeknownst to him. Then he turns around to face that blinking computer screen with windows of bar charts, statistics, tables and graphs – all necessary to the upkeep of the treasury – and attentively starts to work on whatever was interrupted by Karou’s slipped sigh.

Kaoru gazes up at the broad back of a loyal friend and a self-proclaimed servant (which Omi indeed shamelessly declared to his friends). Shichijou Omi. Everytime that name rolls over his tongue, he can feel an invisible yet electrifying shiver shoots down his spine. It all started when he hit puberty: his feeling of dependency and friendship towards Omi gradually transform into that of longing and agonizing need to be near him every singly second like a person would feel for a lover. To be honest, it scares him when he began to realize that the thoughts of a certain silver-haired handsome man dominating his mind all day long. After all, sensations of lust and love are new to him. At first Kaoru tried to deny it, putting the blame on his over-protective parents who put him in the state of being ‘un-touched’ and ‘un-tainted’ by the hands of other, or rather a boyfriend or a lover. He shrugged away the thought of obsessing over every little thing Omi does by naming it as some sort of momentary obsession of a teenage boy – after all it’s just normal for a person to have feelings about another, whether he’s a queen or a peasant. However as time passes, and especially when they’re enrolled into the prestigious Bell Liberty Academy, it seems that he can’t ignore the gradually intensifying emotions swirling around his body and mind.

While Omi is occupied with his task of handling the treasury data, Kaoru’s intense gaze lingers on the well-sculptured figure of perfection of Shichijou Omi. As usual like any other 2nd year student, he is clad in a red jacket with light-amber linings and white cuffs with a white plain shirt underneath. He is adorned in dark beige-colored trousers which help to deny the long and muscled legs, which is the result of intensive jogging that Omi exercises every morning without a miss. Standing at a 5 feet 11 inches, his broad shoulders magnify the towering figure of his. Still his features withhold a handsome beauty unlike the subtle salacious charm Kaoru possesses: shiny head of short silver strands amplify the gaze of the deep amethysts – he’s an epitome of male beauty. Well at least for Kaoru that is.

Musing about how they have enrolled into this famous Academy, Kaoru thoughts travel down a memory lane. Reminiscing the past, he recalled that very first ever heated argument he has had with Omi. Never before that they’ve had any disagreement or argument concerning their friendship or any of that sort matters; they’ve maintained a loving and caring friendship. Maybe it is because they’ve been first real best friends to each other when Omi transferred from to Osaka Primary School. Their family moved from London to Japan due to Omi’s father job promotion which required his full attention over the Japan branch, which in turn required all of their family members to immigrate to Tokyo. Others shied away from Omi, who is a foreigner and can’t speak Japanese fluently, and Kaoru happened to the one to be able to speak English and tried to befriend the slightly irritated and frustrated Omi. After that they’ve been there for the need of each other, and they treasure their precious friendship.

The argument involved a very determined Kaoru persuading Omi to hack into the BL Academy main computer network system and add his name into the list of accepted students. As it happened, Kaoru who is an intelligent prodigy with a successful future has been no doubt willingly accepted into the Academy, with the proof of receiving ‘the platinum paper’ – a letter which is sent to those talented geniuses all over Japan as a letter of acceptance as a student of Bell Liberty. It’s similar to a form of scholarship except for that you don’t really need to apply for that letter, and if the school accepts you as one of their students, it’s almost as if your future success has been guaranteed. Kaoru was extremely furious, almost livid, at that time when he has been the only one who receives the platinum letter. It’s no doubt that Omi deserves the title of a prodigy or a genius and receiving the letter should have been inevitable. Yet, the administrators of the school has somehow missed out the name of Omi Shichijou whose talent has enable him to master the computer programming as if he were born as a cyborg.

That’s the reason why Kaoru has decided that hacking into the BL computer system was the only right thing to do. Besides he knew somewhere in his mind that he didn’t or won’t want to part ways with his very best friend whose acquaintance he has been cherished ever since the primary school. However he didn’t pour his heart out to his friend of course since Omi wouldn’t accept it as a valid reason to commit an illegal yet righteous deed. Kaoru just dismissed the subject as something utterly unreasonable and asinine, and just told Omi to go on with the hacking. But then hacking into the system hasn’t been a simple task either – the main frame is well protected with fire walls and passwords as expected, and it even took a genius like Omi a day and a half to accomplish the task. Kaoru put blind faith in Omi and he waited by the side of Omi while he’s working extremely hard. He can even picture the sparkling smiles on both of their faces after that mischievous action. 'Ahh…,' Kaoru let out a contented and inaudible sigh because he can feel the overwhelming happiness he felt at that time while both of them sprawled flat on the thick sheets of snow relaxing.

'But it all changed after all that. It’s as if Omi has just undergone a complete transformation into becoming an obedient servant from an understanding friend. Baka, I wonder what’s going in that thick head of yours. Can’t you see my feelings. Well of course you can’t since you’re a moron.' Somehow Kaoru can’t never gather enough courage to speak that out loud. At least it’s not entirely his fault anyway. Everytime he tries to confess his feelings, the always bad-timing Omi would butt in and say something like ‘Kaoru, I’ll do whatever you want’ which is a complete turn off. How can he say that he’s like Omi to reciprocate his feelings just because Omi thinks that’s what he wants? 'It’s not fair. I want you to return my love not because you think that’s what I want, but because that’s what ‘you want’.' Omi will always just smile and attend to every whim of his.

However ever since they’ve been in this academy two years ago, Omi just changes gradually from befriending him to serving him which Kaoru definitely doesn’t want to happen. Omi just stopped giving his opinions on whatever Kaoru would do, but of course he still willingly listen whatever the frustration or irritation that Kaoru has to share with him. 'I don’t know anymore, well expect to just bang my head on the wall which I would whole-heartedly do if it would only relieve me of my frustration over that stupid idiot.'

While a raging internal battle is going on in that pretty little head of Kaoru’s, his rosy cherubic lips instinctively pout and his chocolate brows furrow downwards slightly. Nonetheless signs of frustration aren’t go un-noticed by observant Omi. Omi’s eyebrows rise a bit as if to questions silently what the hell his Kaoru is irritating over. He opens his lips a bit as if on a cue to speak, but decides it’d be better to wait till Kaoru wishes to speak to him. Had he realized sooner that the subservient attitude of him is what troubling Kaoru the most, he would have rush to Kaoru’s side and shower him with attention and affection. But the fact is he doesn’t, so he’ll be a by-stander and observes Kaoru while at the same time keeping the pace of typing on the keyboard.

'I’m pathetic, really. Maybe I should just arrange a serious discussion between just the two of us and well just tell him every single thing that I feel ever since we’re little.' He steals a glance at the un-attentive back of Omi. 'Then again, maybe not since he’s so busy with the work of treasury and I don’t really see a chance of him paying attention to whatever I’ve been thinking about confessing out to him. Well that’s Omi for you.'

Kaoru decides it’s better to take a walk out in the fresh and mildly frosty winter air to clear his head of those troublesome thoughts. 'One of these days, I’m really going to lose my head.'

"Omi, I’m going to take a walk to the park." Without waiting for Omi’s acknowledgement or reply, Kaoru briskly walk out of the somewhat stifling atmosphere of the treasury room. The oaken door shuts with a quick click behind him, unaware of the trailing deep gaze of those amethyst orbs on his back.

'Kaoru.'

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