Disclaimers: I am not the owner of Pita-ten. I do not make a profit out of this work, nor do I plan to anytime in the future. Koge-Donbo is the almighty one, so why are you reading this?

Warnings: AU. General confusion (as I try to continue what I started all too long ago) Also, possible spelling and grammatical errors, as my brain is dead (as are my eyes). Sorry.

- Within The Shadows -

- Chapter Six -

There was little to note about the school day, Kotarou decided, as he shoved another book into his bag, cramming it with the rest. Naturally, his cousin had caused a stir of sorts with his coming - and the situation that had dragged him into it in the first place - but other than that, it had been another bland, boring day.

Or, at least, as bland and as boring as one could have when they were well aware of the 'powers that be'. Then there was the bloodshed they could see (and hear), completely conscious of what was going on, while everyone else was blissfully ignorant of it. In a way, the violet haired teen envied them, because they didn't have to carry the extra knowledge, but both boys had concluded that, eventually, humans would not be ignored in the equation between two races battling each other.

The world they lived on was the battle ground, after all.

"Kotarou?"

The child started in surprise, his heart pounding in his chest, until he realised that it was only Kotaroh trying to catch his attention. Throwing his cousin a smile (to reassure him, in case he thought something was wrong), he caught sight of the two blondes waiting for them just outside the classroom door.

"Ten-chan!" snapped the shorter of the two, and he knew (having been friends with them for so long) that they were arguing once more. The topics ranged from Koboshi's height to the grass that grew (oddly enough): it was something he was used to, and relished in the normality of.

"Hey, I'm just stating the facts, Uematsu," Takashi said, satisfied smile in place. Koboshi's eyes narrowed as she took a step forward and grabbed at his shirt, yanking him down to her eye level.

"And the facts state that if you keep going on like this, you're going to be hurt," she grated out in a matter-of-fact tone. If that was possible, in any case.

The blond seemed unaffected by the threat, and just laughed. Kotarou shook his head at them as he picked up his school bag, before he noticed the bemused look on his cousin's face.

"They do this all the time," he confirmed the unanswered question, and Kotaroh blinked.

"And they're both still alive and kicking today?" the surprised tone was all-too obvious to ignore, and Kotarou could only smile, completely amused.

It was very rare to catch the calm, level-headed boy surprised and flustered, after all; although all he had seen lately was a particularly brooding individual at home, so it was a pleasant change.

Better than a mask of constructed happiness that meant nothing.

"When you've practically grown up with them, it'd be scary to see them getting along for more than a couple of hours in each other's presence," Kotarou pointed out, in a matter-of-fact tone, as he headed in their direction; his cousin hesitating for only a moment before he hurried after him.

Despite the fact that Koboshi still had a rather firm hold of his shirt (and he had to bend to face her eye-to-eye), Takashi somehow managed to turn to give the two boys a smile and wink. "So, have any plans for this afternoon? Because I was thinking, that maybe we'd all just go and hang out at…"

"I'm talking to you, Ten-chan!" hissed Koboshi, sounding rather murderous. Kotaroh raised a concerned eyebrow at the blond boy's predicament, as the other boy held up both hands and shrugged.

"Sorry, but we have to do our best to catch up with our lessons, before we can even consider going out," he explained in an apologetic tone, "and we have to pick up Shino-chan from day-care, since my father works late, remember?"

Dark green eyes seemed to penetrate into his mind (or was it his soul?), "Oh, yeah. But you know, we could always take your younger cousin with us; I'm sure she'd love to spend some time outside, rather than having to watch two guys focused on their homework."

As soon as he finished speaking, Koboshi yanked at his neck scruff sharply, and Takashi was unable to muffle the yelp of pain that came with it. As she went into a rant about manners and his obvious lack thereof, Kotaroh tapped his cousin on the shoulder, in clear indication that they might as well leave, as neither of the pair looked ready to back down.

"Bye, Koboshi-chan, Ten-chan," Kotarou said simply, as he was pushed ahead and down the hallway. With her free hand, the girl gave them both a half-wave, while Takashi made a sort of semi-gargle to indicate that he had heard them (and acknowledged that neither one wanted to hang around to watch the outcome of the next round of their fight).

"Now, Uematsu, haven't you ever been told that you shouldn't act that way?" The pair could hear his voice, slightly choked but still clear, as it gradually got fainter with each step taken. "I mean, how do you ever plan to get marri—…"

The silence (after a particularly loud shriek of anger from Koboshi) was bliss, as they exited the school building; out to the empty grounds that seemed too quiet to be considered good.

They glanced all around them, taking in the surroundings; once they were reassured that there was no danger, the pair both relaxed (and practically sagged with relief) and continued on their way out.

"Are you sure Ayanokoji-san will be alright? She seemed quite angry." Kotaroh's level tone sliced through the quiet that had threatened to overwhelm just moments before, and received a shrug in return.

"Ten-chan's done worse to get her angry, and he isn't dead yet, is he?" He tried not to think of the possibility of his friends killing each other just because they couldn't admit that there was something there (he had no idea as to what, but it didn't matter at the moment).

Kotaroh nodded, somewhat distracted, as they picked Shino up from the day-care centre, and only stopped briefly at the convenience store before they headed home. Despite their off-hand nature and casual conversation, closer observation would have revealed the pair of boys alert, as if ready for an unknown ambush no one even knew of.

They entered the empty apartment building, and knew at once that Kotarou's father had been held back at work, without having to recall the left message on the answering machine. While Kotaroh played a stepping game with his younger sister to her room so that she could change, the other boy stopped by the machine and tapped the 'replay' button, before he headed towards the kitchen. His father's voice followed after him, fuzzy with static.

"I'm really sorry I couldn't make it," his voice was almost breathless, as if he had run to the phone to call as quick as he could, before he was summoned elsewhere, "But we need all the help we can get right now. I'm hoping to be home at eight by the latest, so don't worry."

As Kotarou placed the bags on the counter, they sagged out with the groceries, as he stopped at the pause; the machine had yet to beep, which indicated the end of the message.

Then there was a sigh.

"You've done so much; you and Kotaroh, and I wish I didn't have to do this, especially with everything that's going on. I know we're all still mourning, and… if only I was there in case you ever needed help…"

Kotaroh entered and noted the look on his cousin's face, as he caught the last section of the message.

"More than anything, I don't want you kids to get caught up in an adult's world, when you're so young."

The machine beeped, and Kotarou grumbled under his breath, as he turned back to the plastic bags set out before him. Somewhat amused, Kotaroh took a place next to him, and then smiled at the raised eyebrow look he received.

"Your father's worried," he pointed out simply, well aware that he stated the absolute obvious.

"If he wasn't, I would have died of shock," Kotarou rolled his eyes, but did not push his cousin away when the other slung an arm around his shoulders, "He was always thinking about other people's well-being, even to the point of forgetting his own, and it was only because of mother that he never collapsed."

"She was a strong woman," murmured Kotaroh, almost to himself, as he observed the expression on the other's face, "She wouldn't want us to give up so soon."

He was shrugged off easily, as preparation for dinner began; "Either way, we'll just have to face it as we go. Would you help me with this already, or are we just going to wait for dinner to make itself?"

Kotaroh chuckled, although he knew that his cousin, in reality, was hurting inside. They all were, even if they didn't speak of it out loud. Even Shino, who had only been given parts of the truth, was aware that something horrible had happened, and had reoccurring nightmares that seemed to become more common.

It was as if they were being haunted by some other force, beyond their powers of perception. And, as horrible as it was, they were powerless against it.

With such thoughts in mind, the other boy took a seat and watched as Kotarou pattered around the small kitchen space, stowing boxed items away and pulling out a various number of others to replace them.

Somewhere in the background, the pair registered the television being switched on – Shino had obviously gotten bored with the lack of life, and chose to take care of it herself – as they remained caught in their personal thoughts and feelings. Not to mention the question of what the future had in store for them.

As it was already, things were not shaping up for the good, and they could very much end up dead soon.

"You know," Kotaroh suddenly ventured (perhaps to block out the childish-theme song that was being played out on the television), "that frown on your face is going to stick if you keep it up."

"I wasn't frowning." Well, he was, but that wasn't the point. Kotarou may have said more, but there was an unearthly crash that shook them all out of their train of thought. While he left his cousin to care for his sister, the other teen hurried out to try and find the source of the noise.

He froze as soon as he reached the front door; if it was something dangerous, it would be stupid to just open the door. But he didn't feel any sort of ill intent, and Kotaroh hadn't shouted a warning, so… it was alright, wasn't it? While he hesitated with his mind, a girlish voice, muffled, caught him off-guard.

"Owie… that wasn't good, su—…"

Whoever it was… they couldn't be dangerous, right? Or was he just falling into some sort of well-constructed trap?

Kotarou forced himself to breathe evenly, as he shifted through his options: he could pretend they hadn't heard the commotion, open the door and confront whoever it was, or… die? No, not that. He might have continued to go around in circles with himself, if Kotaroh hadn't decided to check up on him.

"Are you going to stand there all day, arguing with yourself?" He asked good-naturedly.

Damn, it was far too amused with how things were proceeding (a least that meant there was less of a chance that danger was going to gouge his eyes out). "It's better to be safe than sorry, right?"

A smile of understanding (on more than one level) decided for Kotarou, as he pushed the door open a fraction; ready to slam it shut at the flitter of danger. For a moment, the tension rose.

Nothing.

Save a pink-haired girl who clutched at her ankle and cringed in pain. Before he could move himself, his cousin had pushed past him to swing the door open and approach the girl.

"Are you alright, miss?"

The girl's head snapped up at his question, tears clinging to her eyes; "My ankle really, really, really hurts! And I don't even know how I managed it, su…"

She fell silent, as Kotaroh turned to tell the other boy present to get ice – save for the fact that he was already gone. A minute or two later and Kotarou had returned, although his blank expression had been replaced with a distrustful scowl. He took the ice-pack offered with a smile of thanks, before he helped apply it to the girl's wound.

"You should be alright; it doesn't look too bad, once the swelling stops," Kotaroh said in his forever patient and soothing voice, "I suppose you'll need help to get back to your place, then?"

He didn't need to mention that neither one of them had ever seen her before, nor where she might have come from. Pink-hair beamed at the kind boy, while Kotarou was left to continue scowling in the shadows.

"Thank you so much for your kindness! But it's alright, I live right over there; just moved in, actually!" She waved at the apartment next to theirs. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Kotaroh… Higuchi," he turned, to introduce his cousin, but realised that the other had already left – probably to care for Shino. But the girl (although she was probably older than them) didn't seem to notice, as she continued to smile at him.

Wait… what was that strange feeling deep within him? He pushed the thoughts away.

"Kotaroh-kun, then! Nice to meet you," she snatched his hand and shook it with much enthusiasm, "I'm Misha! I hope we'll be good neighbours!"

-laughs hysterically- It has been the longest time since I wrote this (January of 2006?) so… uh, well. First I'll have to re-read the manga again, be all over-obsessed once more, and then see what I can salvage from the first few chapters for the future. I really should finish this one day, huh? Save for the fact… I can't really remember where this was going. Ah well, if I ever make another chapter, it'll prove my determination to complete something left around for all too long.

By the way, I wouldn't normally put this here, but I wouldn't mind getting reviews – mostly to reassure me that people are still reading this, horrific as it is (and its… old-ness). Anything constructive you want to tell me is also appreciated, and… you know, usual stuff. I'll probably need the kick in the shins to keep going XD

Makami: I fail in life – not writing something for ages can do that to a person, huh? Hopefully I managed to salvage something with this chapter, but who knows when the next chapter will be ;;

dreamless prophet: I discontinued. You have every right to spork me for it (that's what happens with a smaller fandom) But I'll be doing my best to try and finish this story, and I've always appreciated your help (and hopefully will be able to continue to appreciate this as I try to continue)

Alpha Draconis1: While I admit that I can't remember my exact mindset when I began this, I'm positive that I'll never reach a stage of darkened angst that would indicate me wallowing in my own self-pity XD I'm glad you liked reading it and thanks for the review.

Samantha-Girl Scout: You know… your review might have been what I needed to remember that I had a fic to finish. Sorry it took forever, but hopefully you can stay with me as I try to bring back what I started :)