Note: I have nothing to do with Here is Greenwood and its characters except to be a fan who enjoys the OVAs a lot. This story is my extrapolation of the storylines as seen in the OVAs. I apologize if this story doesn't quite fit in with the manga.

Mitsuru opened the door to his room and flung himself inside.

"I'm back," he announced. A moment later, he was staggering, trying to keep his balance after nearly tripping over Shun. He ended up bracing himself momentarily against Shun's shoulders, then shoving himself back up into an upright position.

"Hey, what's going on?" he demanded. "Shun, what are you doing there?"

"Sorry, senpai," the younger boy said, but he didn't move.

Mitsuru shook his head and turned to stare at his roommate, who was sitting at his desk, sewing something large and thick. "Shinobu, what are you doing?"

"I'm sewing a seat cushion," his roommate said calmly.

Mitsuru rolled his eyes. Sometimes it was like pulling teeth to get answers out of Shinobu. "Okay, I can see that. Now, why are you sewing a seat cushion?"

"It's for Hasukawa."

Mitsuru blinked. "Why would he need a seat cushion?"

Shinobu glanced at him momentarily, then went back to his sewing. "Explain everything to him, Shun."

Mitsuru looked down at the younger boy. "Explain what?" he demanded.

He listened as Shun recounted the events of the afternoon. With nearly each sentence he felt his horror and his anger growing. By the time Shun finished his account, Mitsuru's knuckles were white from the force of his clenched fists.

He turned and reached for the doorknob.

"Where are you going?" Shinobu demanded sharply.

"I'm going to find Nagisa," Mitsuru snapped. "That's where I'm going. I'm going to find her."

"Sit down, Mitsuru," his roommate ordered.

Mitsuru shook his head. "I don't care if she is your sister," he said. "I'm going to hit her clear across the ocean to America. And if she knows what's good for her, she'll stay there."

"Mitsuru Ikeda!" Shinobu snapped. "Sit down this instant!"

Mitsuru's eyes widened. He'd never heard such anger or power in Shinobu's voice before. He suddenly found himself turning away from the door and dropping down onto the floor beside Shun. He flushed and started to his feet again, but he caught sight of Shinobu's face.

The other boy's cool gray-green eyes bore into him. There was a tight expression on his friend's face that both astonished and worried him. He'd never seen Shinobu in such a state before. It was like he was in danger of losing complete control, and for someone who always seemed to be in control, this was something terrible to behold.

But as upset as his friend might be, Mitsuru was at least as angry. "Shinobu, we can't just let her go. This time she's done more than simply kidnap one of us. She actually flogged Hasukawa. She spanked him and drew blood!"

Shinobu held his eyes a moment more before turning back to his sewing. "I know all this," he said. "That is why I threatened her with three of the four things she fears most in the world."

Mitsuru shook his head. "The police, your father, and Akira? You should have just called the police and had her arrested. She deserves it." He fumed silently to himself, then his curiosity got the better of him. "What was the fourth thing?" he asked.

"Me."

Mitsuru shivered. It should have been obvious. The only thing Nagisa might fear more than either her father or older brother would be an angry, vengeful younger brother. He almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

"How is Hasukawa?" he asked quietly. The rage had mostly left him, allowing him to think more clearly.

"He'll have trouble sitting down for a while," Shinobu said softly, "and he may have some other problems with his back while his wounds heal, but otherwise he should be fine physically within two or three weeks." He shook his head. "I'm more worried about the internal wounds."

Mitsuru frowned. "Internal wounds? You mean to his spirit and personality?"

Shinobu nodded. "I don't think he's ever been spanked or beaten before," he said, "not with a brother like Kazuhiro raising him."

Mitsuru nodded. If there was one thing they could count on Hasukawa Kazuhiro for--other than driving Hasukawa crazy with his teasing--it was to be a responsible parental figure for his younger brother.

"It was awful," Shun said suddenly. "You should have seen it. It was almost like that scene they did two days ago, only it was real."

Mitsuru felt a chill run down his spine. That had been the scene when Shinobu--as Seishiro--had discovered Kazuya, in character as Kenichi, curled up under his bed covers following his rape at Mitsuru's, or rather Mikuro's, hands. He suddenly remembered that Nagisa wasn't the only one with perverted tastes. "Did they--" He stopped, unable to go on.

Shinobu shook his head. "No," he said quietly. "He was spared that, at least."

Mitsuru heaved a sigh of relief. "Where is Hasukawa now?" he asked. "Next door?"

Shun nodded. "Shinobu-senpai insisted that he try to get some sleep."

"I cleaned his wounds with antiseptic first," Shinobu said, "while I sent Shun to the pharmacy for more bandages. He was sleeping when I left to come in here." He stood up suddenly, cutting at the thread from his needle as he did so.

"Can I see him?" Mitsuru asked.

Shinobu shook his head. "Not tonight. He needs to rest." He started towards the door, then stopped. "Shun," he said, "you can use my bed. I'll stay with Hasukawa tonight."

Mitsuru blinked. "Is it that bad?"

"No, but I know more about first aid than either of you. If Hasukawa needs something, I'll be better able to take care of it." He opened the door and went outside.

Mitsuru sighed. "Shun, is Hasukawa really all right?"

The other boy shrugged unhappily. "Shinobu-senpai says he is, but I don't know. I don't think Shinobu-senpai is all right, either."

Mitsuru sighed again. There was nothing he could do, for either of his friends. Except hope that they'd both be all right.

And that Nagisa would have nightmares about Shinobu hunting her across Japan for a long, long time.

* * *

Shinobu hated to awaken Hasukawa, but it was necessary. He had to change the bandages, and he didn't want the other boy to be frightened.

"Hasukawa," he said softly, gently tapping the younger boy's shoulder. To his relief, Hasukawa's eyes opened slowly and he looked up at him without panicking.

"Senpai."

"Hasukawa, I'm going to take off your bandages now, okay?"

The other boy flushed, but nodded his assent.

Shinobu didn't blame him for blushing. Because of the potential for seepage even through the bandages, Hasukawa was forced to lie on his stomach. And because of the severe spanking Nagisa and her henchmen had given him, he could barely tolerate having the blankets pulled up over his buttocks, let alone anything more restrictive. As a result, he was forced to sleep naked, at least for this one night. And in order for him to change all the bandages, Shinobu had to draw back the blankets.

Shinobu sighed as he began undoing the medical tape he'd used to keep the gauze and bandages in place. Fortunately, the bandages came away without breaking any of the scabs that had formed. Still, he heard Hasukawa's hisses of pain as the tape pulled at already sorely abused skin, especially the tape on his buttocks.

"Everything looks all right," Shinobu said, hoping to ease some of Hasukawa's discomfort. He held up a bottle. "Before I replace the bandages, though, I'd like to rub this salve in, okay?"

Hasukawa frowned. "What is it?"

"It's something Akira sent me a year ago," Shinobu explained. "It's something like the liniment your brother gives to the school's athletes for strained muscles, but it's much more effective. It relaxes muscles and softens skin, but it also numbs the pain for a while." He gently touched one of the scabs on Hasukawa's back. "It should keep you from scarring too badly, or from scarring at all."

Hasukawa sighed. "Sure, go ahead."

Shinobu gently dribbled some of the salve onto his fingers and began to rub it into Hasukawa's skin. His own skin went numb, but so did Hasukawa's, to judge by his sigh of relief and the sudden relaxing of his body. Shinobu continued rubbing salve into the other boy's back, being especially careful around the scabs.

He worked slowly down Hasukawa's back, then paused. He knew where Hasukawa would especially welcome the salve's application, but would he allow it to be rubbed in? "Hasukawa?" he asked softly, tapping gently at the younger boy's waist.

Hasukawa was flushing brightly, but he nodded.

Shinobu squeezed a little more salve onto his fingers, then gently began massaging it into Hasukawa's buttocks, again being careful about the row of scabs that began on one side and continued onto the other.

When he finished, he glanced at Hasukawa. The other boy's cheeks were bright red, but he seemed to be more at ease than ever.

"Thank you, senpai," he whispered. "I can't feel anything anymore."

Shinobu smiled briefly. "I'm glad." He wiped his hands clean on the cloth he'd brought with him. Then he held up the cushion he'd sewn. "This is for you," he said. "You'll need it when you need to sit down." He frowned, glancing pointedly at Hasukawa's backside. "Though I don't know right now if it will help all that much." He saw Hasukawa flush again and sighed. "We'll see how much the salve helps first, though."

Hasukawa nodded.

"Now tomorrow," Shinobu continued, "I'll send Mitsuru over to the infirmary to get some liniment from your brother." He held up a hand when he saw Hasukawa's sudden panic. "He won't say anything about what happened, only that one of the residents pulled a muscle. Shun went to the pharmacy for more bandages earlier, so I'll have him bring breakfast up here for us. After breakfast--or before, if you prefer, and if you wake up early enough--I'll take you down to the baths and help you scrub your back."

"Senpai, you don't have to--"

Shinobu shook his head. "Actually, I have to. Someone needs to, and you won't be able to reach all the cuts to clean them. Also, I'm not sure how much luck you'll have trying to scrub your back when you can't sit down to balance yourself."

Hasukawa flushed. "Still--"

"Hasukawa," Shinobu said firmly, "I'm going to do it whether you like it or not, so quit arguing. Besides, it's my fault you were hurt so badly, so it's the least I can do."

"Nagisa isn't anybody's fault--"

"You were hurt because of your connection to me," Shinobu said. "If you weren't one of my closest friends, Nagisa would never have kidnapped you." He reached over for the bandages and the tape.

"Senpai?"

"Yes, Hasukawa." Shinobu looked for the scissors.

"Did you mean it when you called me one of your closest friends?"

Shinobu paused in his search and looked at the younger boy. "Of course I did. The only one I'm closer to is Mitsuru, and that's because I've known him and lived with him longer." He got up out of his seat and went to rummage in Hasukawa's and Shun's desks.

"Senpai?"

"Yes, Hasukawa." He found scissors in one of Shun's drawers and went back to the bed.

"Earlier at Nagisa's house," Hasukawa said slowly, "did you call me Kazuya?"

Shinobu paused. It was true, he had called the other boy "Kazuya" instead of his usual "Hasukawa" at the time. For a while, he'd even been thinking of him as "Kazuya" instead of just calling him by name. As his panic had ebbed and his rage subsided, Kazuya had become Hasukawa again. But he had called him "Kazuya."

"Yes, I did."

"Would you--" Hasukawa flushed. "Would you please call me Kazuya from now on?"

Shinobu blinked, taken aback. Most of the residents of Greenwood--of the school, actually--preferred to be addressed by their family name by everyone except those they were closest to, like their roommates. Some of the exceptions were Aoki and Shun. And of course, everyone in Greenwood called him "Shinobu-senpai" instead of "Tezuka-senpai" as they did elsewhere, but that was because he allowed it.

Hasukawa had never really made an issue of it, allowing people to call him either "Hasukawa" or "Suka," which was Shun's nickname for him. But as far as he knew, only Kazuhiro and Sumire--and Igarashi Miya, of course--called him "Kazuya." That Hasukawa should ask him to call him by his given name now, and only him, suggested the existence of a bond between them.

There was a bond between them, though. Shinobu didn't understand exactly how it had formed--probably through the closer interaction between them of late--but it was what had allowed him to find Hasukawa. Of course, Nagisa's sadistic emotions had been traceable as well, but he hadn't wanted to follow that cesspool of perversion anymore than absolutely necessary.

"Yes," he said, finally. "If you really want me to, I'll call you 'Kazuya' from now on." He'd have to start thinking of him as Kazuya as well, though that wouldn't be all that hard now. They were close enough now that it would take only a minor adjustment in his thinking. But there were other considerations. Mitsuru's feelings for one. "But only in private and only when it's just the two of us, all right? Unless you plan on asking Mitsuru to call you by name as well, it will just hurt his feelings."

The other boy nodded. "Okay, only in private." He smiled slightly. "Thank you, senpai."

Shinobu shook his head as he cut the first length of medical tape. "You're welcome, Kazuya," he said. He stretched out a piece of gauze across one of the smaller wounds.

Neither boy said anything as Shinobu bandaged all the scabbed over wounds. Finally, he finished with the last one and drew the blankets back over Kazuya's exposed backside. "There," he said, "we're all done."

Kazuya gazed up at him. "Thank you, senpai," he whispered.

Shinobu studied his friend. Kazuya seemed much more relaxed now than he had earlier, as though a great weight had been removed from his shoulders. He seemed to be almost glowing with...something. Not gratitude, necessarily, though he saw that in Kazuya's eyes. More like...happiness?

"You're welcome," he said slowly. Then he shook himself out of his musings. "Listen, I'll be sleeping in your bed tonight while you sleep in Shun's, so I'll be right above you. I'm a light sleeper, so if you need anything, just call out, okay?"

Kazuya's eyes were already closing. "Thank you, senpai."

Shinobu shook his head, then got to his feet. Before he could go to sleep himself, he had to dispose of the used bandages, not to mention take care of his own needs like brushing his teeth. But he'd left his nightclothes in his own room. He'd have to go and get them.

He got to his feet and started for the door. Before turning off the light, he turned towards the bed. "Good night, Kazuya," he said softly.

Maybe it was his imagination, but he thought he heard Kazuya say "Good night, Shinobu-niisan."

That was a first. So far as he could remember, no one had ever called him "niisan."

He wondered briefly why he felt so happy at hearing it.

* * *

Kazuya woke up feeling stiff and sore, but surprisingly happy.

By all rights, he knew, he should have been angry and embarrassed about the whole thing, but a part of him couldn't help rejoicing.

He and Shinobu-senpai were closer than ever. And to hear that his senpai considered him one of his closest friends, second only to Mitsuru-senpai, was something he'd never dreamed of. And that he'd agreed to call him by name instead of surname! That was a concession he'd never thought of asking for before, yet it had seemed so important at the time that he'd asked for the favor without a second thought.

It didn't bother him that Shinobu-senpai would only call him by name in private. He cared too much about Mitsuru-senpai to want to hurt his feelings. He promised himself that he'd ask for the same favor from Mitsuru-senpai later on. Or at least to call him "Suka" like Shun and half the Greenwood residents did.

"You're awake," a voice announced calmly.

Kazuya blinked. "Senpai?"

The curtain pulled back slightly. "Good morning, Kazuya."

Kazuya couldn't help smiling. "Good morning, senpai."

"How are you feeling?" Shinobu-senpai asked.

"Stiff and sore," Kazuya admitted, "but otherwise I feel fine."

"I'm glad," Shinobu-senpai said, and he sounded glad. "Shun's just gone down for breakfast now, and Mitsuru will be going to the infirmary soon, so we have time to go down to the baths now if you want."

As it turned out, Kazuya did want to take a bath, but he felt a little nervous about getting out of bed just then.

He blinked when his friend handed in some sort of folded garment and drew the curtain shut again. "You can wear this yukata down to the baths," Shinobu-senpai said. "It's mine, not the one we took from Nagisa's house."

Kazuya struggled upright, wincing as his movements pulled his skin against the bandages and medical tape. It took him a few moments, but he finally levered himself into a position where he could wrap the kimono around him and tie the sash around his waist.

He pulled back the curtain and struggled to his feet. He nearly toppled forward, but Shinobu-senpai caught him by the shoulders and straightened him out.

"Are you all right?"

Kazuya started to stretch, then thought better of it. "Nothing that a good soak won't cure," he said.

"Then let's go," Shinobu-senpai said. "Everyone should be at breakfast, so we'll have the baths to ourselves. Nobody will see all the cuts and bruises."

For which Kazuya was very glad. It would have been very hard to explain what had happened to him, since not everyone knew about Shinobu-senpai's relationship with his sister.

He followed his friend down to the baths easily enough, though the cloth of the yukata rubbed back and forth over his sore buttocks with each movement. Still, it didn't hurt quite as much as it had the day before just getting back to the dormitory.

Inside the dressing room, he slipped out of the kimono, only vaguely aware that Shinobu-senpai was also undressing. Then he felt his friend's hands brush against his buttocks. The touch startled him until he realized that his friend was removing all the bandages from his back and backside.

It wasn't until they'd entered into the bathing room that he realized he hadn't brought any soap or towels with him. To his relief, Shinobu-senpai had remembered.

Kazuya flushed. Shinobu-senpai was certainly taking good care of him. It reminded him of the way Kazuhiro had watched out for him back when they still got along.

Kazuya lowered himself onto a stool, then started up again as pain flashed through him. It wasn't so much that his buttocks were still sore--those muscles felt stiff only--but that he'd inadvertantly settled himself right onto the scabbed-over cut that Nagisa's crop had opened up. He sighed. It seemed even more evident now that Shinobu-senpai had been right about his ability to bathe himself this morning. He lowered himself more cautiously onto the stool, careful to keep his wounds away from the stool's surface.

"I'm going to start scrubbing your back," Shinobu-senpai said.

His words broke Kazuya out of his thoughts. He flushed again as he nodded.

Shinobu-senpai began rubbing at his back with the washcloth. His wounds stung, but Kazuya knew his friend was being as gentle as he could. He wondered briefly if any of the scabs would break, but he couldn't feel the skin pulling that much.

As he relaxed into his senpai's ministrations, he felt something strange wash over him. At first he couldn't identify it or understand it, but a quick look down told him everything. He flushed, glad that, at least for now, Shinobu-senpai couldn't know what effect his gentle handiwork was having on his patient.

"Kazuya," his friend said suddenly, causing him to jump.

"What?" he gasped, trying to get his emotions back under control.

Shinobu-senpai stared at him, then shook his head. "Lean forward a little so I clean those wounds on your buttocks."

Flushing even more furiously, Kazuya reluctantly did so. Feeling his friend's fingers brushing however briefly against his skin sent shivers of pleasure through him, and he felt guilty for feeling so pleased by it. What was wrong with him?

He swallowed. Was he like Kazuhiro, then? His brother paid about as much attention to boys as he did his wife. Kazuya couldn't remember ever feeling such things about other boys, but now he wondered if it was something genetic that he couldn't escape.

It was only small comfort that it was Shinobu-senpai who was having such an effect on him. His friend was as handsome as Mitsuru-senpai and was as much sought after by girls as his roommate was. And while Mitsuru-senpai might be the more outgoing and friendly of the two, Kazuya had first-hand experience--and recent experience at that--of how gentle and tender Shinobu-senpai could be.

"There," his friend said suddenly. "All done. Here."

Kazuya blinked as Shinobu-senpai shoved the washcloth at him. He took it slowly.

"You can do the rest," his friend said, smiling briefly. He turned and went over to his own stool to bathe himself.

Kazuya turned away from his friend quickly, flushing. "Thank you, senpai," he said quickly as he began scrubbing his arms.

"You're welcome, Kazuya."

Neither boy said anything as they finished their ablutions. By the time Kazuya had rinsed himself off, he'd convinced himself that the pleasure he'd taken in Shinobu-senpai's ministrations was only natural, as the gentle massage had eased some of the tension from his body. And it had also been pleasure in being pampered, as he hadn't been for years now.

To his relief, he felt nothing out of the ordinary as Shinobu-senpai helped him step into the furo. Then his attention was entirely occupied with easing himself into the steaming water. It stung the wounds on his back, and sitting down was a problem all its own, but finally, he had settled into a reasonably comfortable position. He closed his eyes and sighed.

When he opened them, he saw Shinobu-senpai gazing calmly at him. Seeing those gray-green eyes looking at him made him flush, but Kazuya simply gazed back, allowing a slight grin to spread across his face.

"The salve really worked, senpai," he said. "I don't think I hurt at all last night until I woke up this morning."

Shinobu-senpai nodded. "I'm glad it worked. I'll ask Akira to send more of it next time he writes. It seems to be a universal cure-all for strained muscles." He shook his head. "It's too bad we can't bottle Mitsuru's unique healing ability and give it to you."

Kazuya sighed, wishing the same thing. It was amazing how any cut, scrape, or bruise to Mitsuru-senpai's face healed in under a minute. It was also strange how it was only his face that healed that quickly. Not even Mitsuru-senpai knew why it was so, but such an ability--albeit transferred to his back and buttocks--would have been invaluable to him.

They soaked in the furo long enough for Kazuya's fingers to become wrinkled, but it felt as though he'd only just gotten in. His muscles had relaxed just a bit, but they were still sore. Shinobu-senpai must have seen him wince, because he immediately offered to rub more of the salve into his muscles when they got back to the room.

Kazuya struggled briefly with his emotions. On the one hand, he was afraid of what would happen when he felt Shinobu-senpai's hands on his back again, and especially on his buttocks. On the other hand, his back and backside still felt stiff and sore.

There was really no contest. "I'd appreciate it, senpai," he said. If he was going to spend the entire day mostly unclothed and on his stomach, he wasn't about to hurt while he did so.

No matter how strange it felt.

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