Ok, here's the first chapter of another crazy, AU, OOC short story that I have in the making.

Someday I may continue it…Or not. ..I haven't really taken it seriously, to be honest. You may notice that this fic has some common elements with another of my fics called "Long Awaited Light". That's because I made these two pieces of writing at roughly the same period of time, and as such they are a bit influenced by each other…

Whatever…

Anyway… I don't really expect any feedback for this. It's just for fun, so! Enjoy!

Warnings: slash, yaoi, L/Light, Ryuzaki/Raito.

Chapter One

"A"

"And speaking of it, where's Raito?" Souichirou asked, taking a seat in the kitchen table and straightening his newspaper with a sudden jerk of his hands "Isn't he running a bit late?"

The clatter of porcelain against porcelain sounded from the kitchen, where the lady of the Yagami household was preparing breakfast, as demonstrated by the telltale sound of frying eggs and clinging cutlery. It was such a rarity to have her husband home in the morning, especially sticking around for long enough so as to eat breakfast with the rest of their family. Each and every time he graced them with his presence, she did her utmost to indulge him.

"What did you say? I didn't hear you…" his wife's voice floated from the kitchen. It made sense that she wouldn't discern his words over all the fuss that was going on from the morning preparations.

Souichirou, who had raised his eyes to look toward the kitchen door in expectation of an answer, saw his wife move to stand in the doorway. "What did you say, darling?" she asked gently, holding a spatula in one hand and a plate in the other.

" It's already a quarter past. When is Raito planning to come down?"

"…Oh goodness…" the woman murmured, the slight wrinkles around her eyes creasing a bit more than usual. Immediately, she turned back toward the kitchen, aiming her words at someone who was beyond her husband's vision. "Sayu-chaan! Be a dear and go wake up your brother, all right? He must have forgotten to set his alarm clock or something…" the woman muttered slowly walking back into the kitchen. Just as she finished speaking, a melodious voice from the kitchen echoed "Yes!" in response to her order.

Souichirou turned his eyes back to the newspaper, pondering that his wife was to their household a bit like what he was to the police force: a chief commander. He focused back on the article he'd been reading, intent on verifying the details about the capture of the rapist. They had arrested him only yesterday noon, which would explain why the chief had been able to finally return home last night and even stay for breakfast this morning. The case had been solved. He didn't even want to think about the new one which would undoubtedly rear its ugly head later today. Helping justice prevail may have always been the goal of his life…but taking a few days off now and then never harmed anyone, he thought grouchily.

The dull sound of footsteps jarred him from his thoughts, and he saw the younger of his two children – his daughter Sayu – rush out of the kitchen and toward the narrow staircase. Her footsteps thudded overhead, and, a few seconds later, Souichirou heard her voice shouting "Onii-chan!", accompanied by the sound of knocking on a door. He turned back to the article, dismissing all the noises. Just as he was really starting to feel overwhelmed by the compliments attributed to the National Police Force by the newspaper, his wife appeared again, carrying plates and walking toward the table.

Souichirou noticed that she was holding one more plate than usual.

"Do we have a guest?" he asked, lowering his glasses a bit to look at his wife from over the edge.

"Oh, yes. I forgot to tell you. Ryuuzaki-kun came over yesterday…You must have missed him since you came so late." She finished, just as Sayu's returning footsteps resounded. Soon enough she hurried back into the kitchen, followed closely by her mother.

Souichirou, by now completely used to the idea of Ryuuzaki, Raito's oddball of a childhood friend, spending the night in their home, simply nodded indifferently and returned to his newspaper, quickly to become absorbed in it all over again. He was looking forward to seeing Ryuuzaki, not having talked to the little miscreant for quite some time. After all, Souichirou had known the black haired boy for almost as many years as he'd known his own children, since the youngster's family had moved to their neighborhood seventeen years ago. Souichirou gave a slight smile as he remembered Raito and Ryuuzaki as toddlers. Even back then, they'd been at each other's throats. But even so, from the moment they'd met each other, they'd become fast friends. Which was rather fortunate for Raito, Souichirou supposed: making a devoted friend so early in life was not a privilege everyone could claim.

Especially not an introvert.

Sayu made a few more trips back and forth from the table to the kitchen, each time bringing some new addition – rice, eggs, crackers. The second time she appeared, her father lowered his newspaper.

"You made your bento?" he asked, absently. The thought had hit him randomly so he voiced it.

Sayu made a sound of quick agreement and soon disappeared back to the kitchen, no doubt to be loaded with something new to bring back to the table. Souichirou was left with a stale taste in his mouth. Of course she had prepared her school lunch. She didn't need him to remind her. After all, he was absent for most of the days she left for school…she had learned to survive perfectly without him. In fact, she may not-

"Good morning, father." The familiar masculine baritone echoed from the direction of the staircase, and Souichirou was all too prepared to be swept away from his increasingly melancholy musings. He turned around swiftly, setting his newspaper on the table over his empty plate, and taking his glasses off to let them hang around his neck.

"Ahh…Raito." The police chief greeted and stretched his arms a bit, observing his son's pristine school uniform, complete with burgundy necktie and pressed cream coloured jacket. Raito's auburn hair, always tamed and arranged perfectly, shone pleasantly in the rays of sunlight that fleeted in the room. And behind Raito's broad shoulders, still climbing down the stairs, Souichirou could just barely discern the trousers of another uniform, much more tousled and unkempt.

"…and of course, Ryuuzaki. It's been a long time, eh?" Souichirou asked with humour, watching Raito walk toward the table. From behind him, as always Ryuuzaki gave Souicirou a jaded nod. But his eyes were as sharp as always, and still fixed on Raito's father.

"Yagami-san." Ryuuzaki simply said by way of greeting, and then proceeded to walk to the table and take his usual seat, on Raito's left. The youngster had turned eighteen last October, and even though his unusually deep voice should have stopped being surprising some time ago, it never ceased to serve as a foil to his rather…androgynous face.

Scruffiness and carelessness were not attributes Souichirou would have expected from a close friend of Raito's, but he was apparently proven wrong, since Ryuuzaki was both. White shirt not tucked properly in his trousers, necktie utterly haphazard, and suit crumpled to the point of losing its impact. Not to mention the chaotic black nest of hair. Amazingly, Ryuuzaki could even make the school uniform, a garment second in propriety only to the habit of a monk, seem completely obscene. But Souichirou wasn't one to judge. He was completely used to Ryuuzaki's odd ways, anyway, so he felt no need to do so.

"Father, what news of the case? Has the culprit been found?" Raito immediately asked his father, taking his jacket off and hanging it on the back of his chair. He obviously hadn't read the morning papers yet. Souichirou nodded in agreement to his son's inquiry. "Yes, he was arrested just yesterday." He answered as Raito sat back down. Both youngsters' eyes became completely fixed on him.

Raito waited a few moments, staring expectantly at his father. When it became apparent that Souichirou would not divulge anything more, the young man spoke again. "Well?"

"Well what?" Souichirou asked, as always enjoying intriguing his son's curiosity.

"Who did it turn out to be? Ogasawara? Yoshida? Which one?" Raito asked, trying and failing to mask his impatience. He exchanged a brief glance with Ryuuzaki, making his father raise an eyebrow.

"What makes you think its one of those two?" he asked suspiciously, but Raito shook his head a bit in dismissal.

"Nothing. Just a guess…So who was it?" Raito asked, some kind of spark igniting in his eyes as he leaned forward on the table. From beside him, Ryuuzaki's eyes were fixed on the older man as well.

"Well…" the father started, realizing at once what was happening here and enjoying the privilege of teasing them.

"Oh, just tell him! Tell him or he won't shut up all through the ride to school!" a foreign voice was heard, and they all turned to see the young girl walking out of the kitchen, a plate of sushi in her hands.

"Good Morning, Sayu-san."

"'Morning, Ryuuza-"

"So dad, which is it? It's not Takayama, is it? No motive." Raito interrupted the morning greetings, ignoring Sayu as she gave him a slight slap on the back. Souichirou grinned a bit at his son's affinity with police investigations.

" It's Ogasawara." Souichirou said, unfolding his napkin and spreading it over his lap. Immediately, he saw a flurry of movement and noticed Raito turning to his friend.

"HA! I told you! Fifteen hundred yen! Pay up" the smugness was not being concealed at all. Souichirou laughed heartily, by now used to this kind of thing.

To his credit, when faced with Raito's overwhelming ego, Ryuuzaki kept a completely unreadable, poised face. After a few seconds, he muttered "The police caught the wrong person. Yoshida did it." Souichirou raised his eyebrow.

" Oh, please. What a sad excuse! And besides, I told you: he has an alib- " Raito was wearing his most derisive expression.

"He killed him regardless. Yagami-san, you caught the wrong person." Ryuuzaki informed the elder man, who felt a bit affronted at the certainty in the impertinent youngster's voice.

"What makes you say that?" Souichirou had apparently forgotten what a bad idea it was to urge them on in their little game, since no sooner had he posed the question than both young men launched into a long explanation of the arguments involved in this debate.

But Souichirou quickly blocked them out, thinking that boys will be boys, and will keep horsing around in the same way until the end of time. No use trying to knock sense into them. It was obvious that these two were obsessive about crime and punishment.

Actually, it had been obvious since they were three.

"Onii-chan, stop! You're making my head spin!" Sayu complained, but was silenced immediately by her brother, who gave her an annoyed glance and continued his debate with his friend.

" which is why Ogasawara is definitely the guilty one. And by the way, you still owe me fifty-"

"Raito, don't be late in the mornings. Make sure to help your mother and sister prepare breakfast. Today they've been-" Souichirou was hit by another of his random paternal thoughts, so he expressed it immediately in order not to forget. But he was immediately interrupted by his son, who seemed to have an insulted expression.

"I always help them. It was only last night I forgot to set my alarm, since Ryuuzaki was-" Raito said, his voice the usual mellow tone. Yet Souichirou didn't miss the slight undercurrent of annoyance which permeated his son's voice. More than anyone, Souichirou knew that his son did not like being apprehended, and in front of a third party no less. Even if that third party was as intimate a friend as Ryuuzaki.

"If I recall correctly, it was Raito who-" Ryuuzaki defended himself, and the two boys resumed their verbal attacks in full force. While they were arguing, Ryuuzaki pulled some banknotes from the folds of his trousers and counted fifteen hundred yen for Raito, throwing them obnoxiously across Raito's empty plate.

Next to their father, Sayu tapped her foot impatiently on the floor beneath the table, already fed up with her family talking about disinteresting matters.

Souichirou's wife chose that moment to enter the room. "Oh, don't worry, darling. Raito always helps us. It's very rare that he's late." She said in Souichirou's general direction, setting a small bowl of rice next to each plate on the table. "Good morning." She greeted the young men, who were seeing her for the first time that day. They returned her greetings, and she settled down in the table as well, in the seat directly opposite from her husband. "Well, let's eat!" everyone unanimously exclaimed, as was a custom in every Japanese home, and proceeded to dig in.

"But enough about the case…I hear enough of this at work… How has school been?" Souichirou started absently, gathering the newspaper in his hand and folding it, setting it on the counter near the table.

"Oh, fantastic." Raito muttered, ironically, and proceeded to swallow a his sushi roll.

"It's just like every other school year, only slightly more interesting. " Ryuuzaki continued his friend's statement, and the chief commander was yet again slightly jarred by the sheer deepness of that voice. It seems that…Ryuuzaki had grown up without anyone noticing.

The same, perhaps, stood for Raito.

"Yes indeed. Apparently, as seniors, we can now manage the cultural festival instead of partaking in it. " Raito's voice echoed, and he turned to Ryuuzaki immediately, starting to talk about school.

"-and they say that the mathematics competitions are-" Raito was speaking a bit more animatedly than usual, a slight spark in his eyes. Ryuuzaki was nodding in agreement to whatever Souichirou's son was talking about. As he watched them talking like this, the chief commander fancied that, even if only slightly, he could understand what had made them friends, even though they seemed utterly mismatched in appearance.

"By the way, what have Sakihara and his idiots been doing with the gym equipment lately…?" Raito suddenly asked, in a form of publicly private conversation, since no one else on the table knew what they were talking about. Not even Sayu, since she didn't fraternize much with the seniors in Raito's class despite going to the same school.

"Sakihara is transferring at the end of the month, so he's trying to pull all the pranks he can manage in one go." Ryuuzaki answered monotonously, and it was apparent by the tone of his voice that he felt rather indifferent about the person in question.

"By placing garlic odour in the ventilation system, gluing toilet papers together and vandalizing the PE equipment? " Raito asked, his voice accusatory. "How inventive."

Ryuuzaki chewed his food and clicked his chopsticks as he turned to shed a sideways glance at Raito, his face expressionless "Why are you telling me? Aren't you the student council president?"

Everyone in the table started hearing red alert signals in their minds, knowing from experience that this could turn into quite the ugly row if they didn't interrupt the youngsters now. It was well known that, due to their overwhelming intelligence, the two friends were constantly competitive and incessantly derisive with each other. Nothing could make them stop if they started bickering about which one of them would make a better student council president.

Knowing this, Raito's mother immediately raised her voice, interrupting their discussion.

"By the way, Raito, I prepared your lunch box. And I made one for Ryuuzaki-san as well…" she started, and gave a broad smile"…actually, Sayu-chan made it." She finished, and turned to look pointedly at the young girl, who seemed to have a tint of light pink peppering over her cheeks, all of a sudden.

Inevitably, everyone's attention focused on Sayu, who blushed even more under the scrutiny. Finally, she spoke, but her voice was uncharacteristically timid and light – so very unlike the annoyed, impertinent tone she usually used with Raito. "I didn't know if you like tuna, so…" she aimed the question at the black haired man, staring at the edge of the table rather than directly at Ryuuzaki's face.

Everyone was quiet for a few moments, the girl's discomfort spreading amongst them. And then Ryuuzaki's answered.

"It's fine, thank you very much. Sayu-san shouldn't have troubled with me." He said politely, and Souichirou was rather irrationally aggravated by the monotone in Ryuuzaki's voice, especially when combined with the blush blossoming across his little girl's visage. Ryuuzaki was being insensitive to Souichirou's baby daughter!

The father felt rather angered, for no reason, by the fact that the girl seemed to be harbouring a bit more than just casual interest for her brother's friend. Not that Souichirou didn't like Ryuuzaki or anything…on the contrary. It's just that he wanted someone more…proper…more well-off…more…just someone else for his daughter to like!

Actually, Souichirou wouldn't mind terribly if Sayu didn't find anyone to like at all. Unless it was some kind of noble rich person…or perhaps the Emperor. Only an Emperor would deserve her. Souichirou may or may not have been entirely aware of the extent of his own paternal protectiveness.

Besides, Ryuuzaki was like his son. Souichirou couldn't imagine him with Sayu even if he wanted to…the mere thought gave the middle aged man chills.

"Sayu is always trying to help." Raito said, smiling generally at everyone in his trademark way, which he used when he made announcements as president of the student committee. In other words, with an utterly fake smile. But Ryuuzaki's own expression remained neutral, not particularly changing.

Soon enough, the conversation lapsed back to the police investigation and, after a while of beating around the bush and protesting, Souichirou finally gave them all the sordid details about the arrest that they would never get from the papers, which they both seemed so intent and desperate on hearing.

-

"Sayu-chaaaaaan!!" the female voice rang loudly from the distance, and they could all see the girl's figure waving at them from afar. She was probably one of Sayu's classmates, judging from her uniform and familiarity with Raito's sister.

Sayu, who'd been walking by Raito's side until them, skipped forward a bit and waved vivaciously back at her friend.

"Well, then I'm going! See you later!" Sayu said to the two men, and her eyes quickly slipped at Ryuuzaki's face, failing to be surreptitious. "Bye!" she exclaimed, a slight blush across her cheeks as she started running forward, to meet her friend, who was waiting for her beside a metallic bench. Raito gave his sister a slight wave and a "Take care" before she left.

Raito and Ryuuzaki were left alone, walking at their own pace. It wasn't such a brilliant day today, judging by the icy grey hue of the sky and the chilly wind that was blowing. Well they couldn't expect much. It was late November after all. They were lucky the weather had been so well thus far.

They walked silently for a long time, following the familiar route to school. When they turned left for the third time, they found themselves in front of the usual vending machine. Without explanation, Raito approached it. Behind him, Ryuuzaki paused, waiting for his friend to retrieve their refreshments. A few moments – and a few rumbling noises – later, Raito turned around. He threw the chocolate bar in the plastic wrapper to Ryuuzaki and kept the small water bottle for himself.

"Thanks" Ryuuzaki said simply, not really looking at Raito, since he appeared distracted by the swirly colours of the chocolate wrapping. Raito restrained himself from rolling his eyes upwards.

"Don't mention it. I used the bet money to buy it, after all." Raito gave a lopsided grin to himself as he walked. Ryuuzaki didn't say anything, but Raito knew his words must have stung.

After all, they'd spent the better part of last night discussing the subtleties of the Ogasawara rapist case. Ryuuzaki had been so sure that the culprit had been Yoshida, that he'd even gone as far as make an entire computer program on the laptop to prove the statistical merit of his theory to Raito.

"Yoshida did it. " A mutter came from behind Raito, and the man snorted openly at Ryuuzaki's pouty tone. Even now, even after the culprit had been arrested, Ryuuzaki still wouldn't let off.

"No he didn't." Raito denied, shoving the water bottle in his schoolbag as they walked.

"I suppose you're right, in the sense that if he managed not to get caught despite the overwhelming evidence working against him, then he probably deserves freedom." Ryuuzaki commented, the scorn in his voice sharp.

"'Overwhelming evidence'?" Raito quoted in a mocking tone. "Care to elaborate?"

Ryuuzaki opened his mouth to speak again, but Raito immediately interrupted him again.

"On second thought, forget it for now." He said, waving his hand around and displaying the watch around his wrist "If you start ranting I'll lose sense of time again, and we'll be late like this morning…"

"As if I'm the only one who 'rants'. You forgot to mention that you were the one doing half the talking last night."

Suddenly, as they were walking, they heard the sound of laughter coming from behind them and turned to see a group of other students walking down the road behind them. The two friends started walking slower, waiting for the company to pass by them.

"That's hardly an excuse. You like the sound of your own voice far too much. Once you begin you never shut up." Raito commented, smirking slightly.

"Oh, I didn't realize Raito-kun paid so much attention to me…"Ryuuzaki said in his familiar teasing voice, which he didn't display often to people other than Raito. The auburn haired man felt the subtle touch of his friend's hand massaging his nape as they walked. He batted off the offending hand, but Ryuuzaki stubbornly kept it in place. "Should we make snow-angels together at Christmas? Send each other chocolates on White Day?" the black haired man cooed teasingly near Raito's ear, his voice a mockery of romantic soap operas everywhere.

Raito smirked, succeeding in shaking Ryuuzaki's hand off. "I already let you eat all the chocolates they give me on White Day." He answered, his voice light and relaxed "What more do you want, a diamond ring?"

Ryuuzaki spoke again as his friend shrugged him aside, and there was a mocking pout on his face, as though Raito had just offended him. "On second thought, if it's Raito-kun, you won't like making snow-angels. You'll probably think your clothes will get dirty or something."

Raito laughed loudly, pushing his hair back with his free hand and holding his schoolbag with the other. "And here I thought you wanted to get dirty with me?" he said in his ridiculous imitation of a bedroom voice, making Ryuuzaki pull an ugly grimace.

"No wonder Amane is your girlfriend! Only an idiot could be." Ryuuzaki said. But no sooner had he finished than Raito turned around with a diabolical grin on his face, trying to tangle Ryuuzaki's legs and make the other trip.

"What was that?" Raito asked, with humorous anger lacing his voice.

"I-Ouch! Ahahaha, I said - - ahaha" Ryuuzaki laughed as Raito kept trying to trip him, until finally, he broke off with a brisk sprint in order to escape the other. He ran forward, chocolate dangling off his mouth and book bag hanging off his shoulders. Raito grinned from behind him, and then started jogging too. They'd be late for school unless they hurried, anyway.

-

"And how does one find the limiting parameters for this quadratic function?"

Juvenile.

Simply juvenile, Raito thought. As always, he wasn't bothering to raise his hand. The teacher was aware that he knew everything anyway, so why bother. But when he saw, from the corner of his eye, a particular slim hand rising to the air, he immediately focused his attention on the lesson.

He turned around, eyes narrowed in a scowl, lips poised in slight smirk. From the desk a few rows away, Ryuuzaki was looking at him, as he kept his hand raised in the air. They stared at each other for a few moments, the fire once more igniting in their eyes.

Still grinning sardonically, Raito raised his hand as well.

The fight was on.

"Yes…Hideki-kun?" the teacher asked, and Ryuuzaki lost no time in lapsing into a full blown university-level explanation of limits and infinities in functions. Raito grinned slightly, but gritted his teeth on the inside, in the way one always does when psyching oneself for a competition. His heartbeat was starting to augment already. Katou, the person sitting right between Raito and Ryuuzaki, must have noticed that the pressure around him was rising. "Not again…" the boy muttered with slight agitation, having experienced the same situation many times now.

But poor Katou's prayers went unheard. As the teacher was forced to interrupt Ryuuga Hideki's – more commonly known as 'Ryuuzaki's' – scientific analysis of quadratic functions, Raito braced himself. He definitely would not lose. Definitely, definitely this time.

It was always an unspoken agreement that whoever lost in these battles would fill in for the other the next time they'd have cleaning duty. Raito would not be the one to mop the floors.

"So now that we know the limit of the function, we should start making the graph. How do we find the peak of the quad-..Yes, Yagami-kun?"

Raito's hand had scooted to the air milliseconds after she'd spoken the word 'peak'. Ryuuzaki's hand had come up at the same time, but, since he'd just been called upon to answer a question, the teacher did not select him again.

"It's very simple." Raito started, and the very phrase he chose to use implied that the following explanation would not be simple at all. And indeed, not even the strongest mind in the class – except for Ryuuzaki's, of course – could follow Raito's upcoming explanation, which involved things that had not yet been taught in their curriculum.

"…and then, after using the conventional formula, which entails-"

"I'm afraid that's not the quickest way to solve the problem." The rigid voice resounded in the room, and everyone turned to look at the class oddball, Ryuuzaki, who was staring right at Raito, with a decidedly evil grin.

Raito shut his mouth noisily and the muscles in his jaw pumped.

"Hideki-kun, I hardly think-" the teacher started, but the class had long stopped paying attention to her. Raito interrupted her immediately, and instead of listening to the teacher, directed his question to Ryuuzaki.

"So you're implying that mathematical differentiation isn't the quickest way, given the current level of the curriculum?" Raito challenged, the glint in his eyes sparking. From beside him, Katou's head immediately whipped around to see how Hideki would respond.

"Yes. If instead of using the formula, we-"

Hearing Raito's obscure vocabulary and realizing that Ryuuzaki was looking at Raito with Death in his eyes, various groans were heard around the classroom as people started catching on to what was happening.

"There we go again…"

"Ooooh, boy…They're really going at it…."

It all went downhill from there. These debates had been interesting gossip at first, but now, after all this time, they had become just plain torture for the rest of the class. The only good thing about Yagami and Hideki competing was that these fights usually dragged on, taking up valuable lesson time. Some students in the class were already starting to doze off. Yagami's fangirls were the only ones paying attention to the dialogue, at this point.

"Hideki-kun, please-" the teacher started, but was ignored completely, as Ryuuzaki kept speaking, only to be interrupted by Raito.

"-yes, but only if we consider the factor-"

"Yagami-kun…" the teacher tried again, raising her hand upward slightly. But it was no use. Droplets of perspiration were actually starting to form on Raito's forehead – he was trying so intensely. With Hideki it was impossible to judge whether he was under stress or not, since he was constantly dressed so strangely, and his hair covered most of his face. Not to mention that he always remained expressionless, like some sort of hellish doll.

"All right, that's it!" the teacher suddenly raised her voice, making Ryuuzaki and Raito, who'd actually started to stand up and walk toward each other, turn and look at her in mild annoyance. "This classroom is not the playground of a personal vendetta, or a competition of wits!" the teacher admonished, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "And it certainly is not your own back yard!" There were some snickers heard around the class, and, by this point, everyone was wide awake and aching to see what would happen next.

And indeed, the two geniuses of the class did not disappoint. Instead of nodding obediently and going back to their seats with their tails between their legs, Yagami and his black haired competitor simply turned around to fully face the teacher.

Slowly, as the teacher was trying to stare them down – and failing, since they were both taller than her – Yagami raised his hands, crossing them over his chest. On his face was etched the derisive grin that had made him the secondary school heartthrob for three consecutive years.

"I'm sorry, sensei. Competing in terms of wit was the last thing on my mind." Raito said in an offended tone "In fact it was quite the opposite. I was trying to actively introduce the class to a more self-immersing, approachable view of algebra."

"Indeed." Ryuuzaki picked up from where Raito had finished, and it was scary to see them complimenting each other's words and teaming up against the teacher, when only minutes ago they'd seemingly been at each other's throats. "I was under the impression that this institution encouraged critical thinking and peer learning. But it seems obvious now that personal contribution is frowned upon. Isn't it, Yagami-kun?"

"This school does not appreciate our knowledge." Raito exclaimed rigidly, drawing his hand in a fist. "Is that what you're saying?" he asked the teacher, his tone mildly challenging.

The professor seemed to become confused, since she sniffed a bit and pushed her glasses upwards on the bridge of her nose. "No! I certainly didn't mean that-I just suggested that-" she started, but Raito interrupted her shamelessly again.

"No, no. There's no use trying to cover it up now, when you clearly portrayed your opinion earlier. By all means, I understand now." he started, in an indignant tone, and slowly turned around to walk toward his seat. Ryuuzaki followed his example "This is the way things work here. Apparently, it's not good for students to think independently and try to work on finding efficient and quick solutions to academic problems."

"Yagami-kun, you misunderstood. I didn't mean-" the professor started with a comical little pout, eliciting various hushed chuckles from around the classroom.

"No, it's fine. It's absolutely fine. I'll know better than to try raising the intellectual level of this class next time." He simply said, and picked up his pencil, playing with it idly. He turned his eyes completely away from the teacher, as though she'd mortally insulted him.

The sensei looked confused, and then anguished. Yagami's father was a very respectable person, she thought. It would be unwise to anger his son. "Yagami-kun, I-" but before she could finish, another voice interrupted her. Everyone turned to look at Ryuuzaki, who had raised his hand toward the teacher, as though telling her to stop.

"Please, sensei. Can't you see you've done enough? Please." Ryuuzaki stated with a smug tone of finality, his wide eyes unblinking and his face deadly serious. The snickers around the class augmented, but the professor – a replacement teacher with limited experience – was too disoriented to realize what was going on.

"But I-" she started, looking first at Raito's indignant face and then at Ryuuzaki's accusatory eyes.

"Please." the black haired man said again in a harsh whisper, as though he wouldn't even deign to speak properly to her, and then turned his eyes away from her, pretentiously offended.

The teacher took a few steps back, looking guiltily at Raito, and then, after a few minutes of silent incomprehension, finally turning back toward the blackboard. During the ineffective continuation of the lesson that followed, she gave Raito's disinterested face more than a few surreptitious nervous glances.

And every time she turned her back to the class, the students from the front rows would turn backwards, smiles on their faces, to see Raito and Ryuuzaki grinning evilly at each other in the back of the class.

-

The screeching sound of plastic soles against the school corridors was so unique – they were sure it would remain in their memory forever.

"Guys!! You've gotta see this!!" Yukimura shouted harshly, grabbing the classroom door and sliding it brutally open. He was an eternal troublemaker, the kind of student who seemed born to make life difficult for teachers all over the world. The people who'd been sitting at their desks, chatting idly and enjoying their snacks, looked up in surprise at his loud yell.

"They're at it again!!!" Mickey, the half-American, completed Yukimura's statement, panting as he ran inside the classroom after his friend.

"Yagami Vs. Hideki!!"

Immediately, the closed space was filled with the torturous sound of chairs scraping harshly over the floor.

"Whooohooooo!!!"

"All right!!"

Yukimura didn't wait much longer for them, aching as he was to go observe the spectacle for himself. He turned immediately and ran down the corridor, with Mickey hot in his trail. Behind them, students started rushing carelessly out of the classroom and down the various staircases, heading for the school tennis court.

"This oughta be good!"

"It's been a few weeks since the last time!"

"'Good'? You mean 'awesome'!!!"

Their voices reflected on the stifling walls as their footsteps fell heavily on the marble surfaces.

When they finally exited the building, they immediately turned toward the sports center, noticing a large crowd of people assembled near the tennis courts.

"Yagami's the man that rocks, Hideki can eat his socks! Raito's gonna win the match, because he is an ultra-catch!! Ra-i-to!!! Ya-ga-mi!! YA-GA-MIIIIIII!!!!" a group of girls was chanting, in a way very reminiscent of the basketball team cheerleaders. And indeed, to describe them as Yagami's personal fanclub would perhaps not be amiss.

The 'frantic fangirls' did not seem out of place, however, since the assembled students around the tennis court were behaving very much like a crowd in a league match. Hideki, just as Yagami, had his fair share of support from the crowd, although not from blonde airheads.

"Show him how it's done!"

"Go Ryuuga!"

Yes, indeed. This was the time for all the secretly jealous males on campus, who usually suppressed their distaste of the student council president, to show their true colours.

"No need to be so serious about it, Ryuuzaki." Yagami's sudden yell was heard above all others. And just as he uttered the disiningenuous statement, he hit the tennis ball so hard that it seemed as though he were envisioning drilling a hole in Hideki's head with it.

"It's only a game, after all!" Ryuuzaki responded, and ran forward suddenly, aiming to catch Raito unprepared.

The various calls and cheers of excitement from the crowd were overwhelming. At some point, to everyone's immense joy, Hideki pulled that crazy stunt again – the one where he dived backward to hit the ball.

"I'll break your face!" Raito shouted, and his teeth were bared in a feral expression of the kind of rabid malice only a sport can generate.

"Not if I break yours first." Ryuuzaki responded, his eyes narrowed – black and void. He too, despite his great intellectuality, was not impervious to the allure of the battle.

"WHOOOOO!!!!" the crowd rejoiced upon the sheer viciousness of it. As Raito and his best friend struggled to break each other's limbs apart with a tennis ball, the sounds of the frenetic crowd were carried deep inside the nearby building.

"You cheated!!" Raito's voice, surprisingly childish, suddenly rung.

"The one who cheats is someone else!"

"What? Now I'll show you, you-…"

Still sitting on her uncomfortable chair and signing documents, the school nurse glanced at her window and sighed. It seems that she'd be busy again soon.

-

To Be Continued

a/n: It's random, it's AU, it's completely, completely not meant to be taken seriously. Did I mention random?

Plus, it's fun to write for when I have awful, incurable, terrible writer's block!

In the next exciting chapter of "The Alphabet":

Meet girlfriend/cheerleader!Misa, lovestruck!characters and lots and lots of hormonal-best-friend!angst!!!!! Nothing better than gay!angst to make our lives seem just that extra bit shinier!