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The Dark Nebula Organization provided perfectly comfortable sleeping accommodations for its members…warm rooms, soft beds, fluffy pillows…basically everything you could want for a good night's sleep.  Even the storm raging outside didn't qualify as a reason to still be awake at two in the morning…

2:04 in the morning, to be more exact.

Ryutaro sighed, staring at the illuminated numbers on the alarm clock between the room's two beds.  Yes, two.  Ryutaro just happened to have a roommate…and that roommate was, however indirectly, the reason he was still awake.

Switching his gaze to the other bed, he was just in time to see the room's other occupant burying his head under his pillow as a clap of thunder sounded outside.

Ryutaro wasn't sure if Tobio knew he was still awake or not…and if he did the sniper certainly didn't know that he was the cause of the fortuneteller's sudden bout of insomnia.

For some time Ryutaro contemplated speaking…then he realized that either way he was going to be up a bit longer, so he might as well try and say something.  It might be possible to guilt the blond into falling asleep, after all….

"You aren't afraid."

It was a simple statement.  More of an observation, really…but Ryutaro knew it to be true.

"What?" Tobio lifted the pillow and looked to his right, watching his new roommate watch him.

Ryutaro shifted to rest his head in his left hand, elbow propped up on his pillow.  "The storm.  You obviously aren't scared of it…you are simply radiating…" he searched for the right word, "discomfort.  Not fear."

"'Course I'm not scared of it…" Tobio said, putting his pillow back down before rolling onto his stomach and laying his head down on folded arms.

Ryutaro just blinked.  He knew that already, he'd just said…. "It is bothering you in some way, though."

"Not really…"

Tobio prided himself on being an observant person.  Able to see something clearly and understand it instantly.  After two days of knowing Ryutaro, he still couldn't figure out just what made him tick…and he'd been watching intently, too…

So intently, that he noticed that Ryutaro's nostrils would twitch ever so slightly when he knew someone was lying to him.  Like they'd just done now.

"It is keeping you awake," Ryutaro insisted, intent on clearing this matter up so he could get to sleep.

Tobio just stared at his companion out of the corner of his highly trained eye.  He'd never met someone who could tiptoe around a subject so well.  It was annoying and fascinating at the same time.  He himself, as a sniper, was a fan of getting right to the point.

"The storm is making too much noise," Tobio stated bluntly, hoping to please the older boy.

"That's all?" Ryutaro asked, receiving a sharp nod as confirmation.  "You should just ignore it, that way, we can both get to sleep."

Tobio grumbled something to himself that the fortuneteller didn't quite catch, and then spoke at a more audible level.  "Both?"

"Yes.  Your unease is keeping me awake."

At this point, Tobio was seriously considering mocking Ryutaro…no matter how childish it would be.  It'd offer some relief at least…but, in the end, he'd much rather use some energy trying to understand the other teen.  With any luck, it would make him so tired that the storm wouldn't bother him anymore.

"How?"

Ryutaro sighed through his nose – something Tobio had noticed he did when he thought those around him were being unbearably stupid.  …Or at least unbearably…unbearable.

"As I said before, you're radiating discomfort…therefore; the whole room is automatically uncomfortable."  Ryutaro paused, sensing rather than seeing Tobio raise an eyebrow.  "Also…you won't stop moving around…it makes me a bit uneasy."

Tobio grunted an apology, and Ryutaro accepted it with a nod.  Neither of them moved to go to sleep, however.

There was a flash of lightning followed by an enormous bang of thunder that seemed to shake the building.  Tobio blinked sleepily and hoped that the other teen hadn't noticed his sharp intake of breath at the sound.

"The noise isn't the only thing that is bothering you."

The sniper glanced suspiciously at his seemingly all-knowing roommate…who for some reason made statements instead of asking questions, yet still expected answers.  He mumbled out "Know it all…" in a voice he hoped was too quiet for Ryutaro to hear.

"Knew it," Ryutaro stated quietly.  "But you are definitely not scared…"

Tobio watched as the fortuneteller's head tilted slightly and a contemplative look came over his face…which, the sniper had to admit, looked a bit more masculine without the make-up.

He snorted, realizing that the older boy was actually trying to understand him.  Tobio had never found himself to be very confusing…especially if the person trying to understand him was meant to be a fortuneteller.  (Keeping the sarcastic tone out of his thoughts was becoming difficult…he was cranky when he was tired.)

"Storms make me uneasy," he said as plainly as possible, wanting Ryutaro off his back.

"I see…" Ryutaro said, eyes narrowing slightly, automatically intent on giving himself more of an explanation.  "They give you a sense of foreboding – make you feel like something bad is going to happen."

"Yeah…basically…."  More like 'exactly' if he felt like being accurate…and he normally did.  At the moment he was just glad Ryutaro wasn't making fun of him.

Ryutaro could feel the atmosphere in the room getting even more uncomfortable.  Tobio was worried about how he would react.  The blond hoped he would drop the subject.  Ryutaro did so with a shrug, sensing that there was nothing left to unearth.

Seeing his roommate shrug, Tobio let out a sigh.  At least that was over with….  Several seconds passed and he noticed Ryutaro seemed to have spaced out, looking – not quite staring – at a spot on the wall by the door as he traced random patterns onto the mattress with his fingers, still supporting his head in his left hand.

He had never met anyone more bizarre.  …Actually there was always that crab guy.  No wait, scratch that, Ryuga was probably the worst.  Tobio suppressed a shiver at the thought of Ryuga and he pulled his blanket over his head when thunder sounded once more.

The movement from the other bed pulled Ryutaro's head out of the clouds, and his lips twitched in amusement when he saw Tobio 'cowering' under the covers.

"Nothing bad will come of this storm," he said, as usual entirely sure of his words.  He heard what sounded like an incredulous "This storm?!" come from under the blanket before Tobio's head reappeared and he stared at the fortuneteller for a good few minutes before shaking his head.

"I must just watch too many movies," Tobio mumbled in explanation, giving half a sheepish grin.

Ryutaro blinked, raising one of his elegant eyebrows.

"Y'know, in movies, when something bad's gonna happen…it's almost always storming or raining or something."

Tobio's cheeks had gone the lightest shade of pink…it was only really noticeable every time lightning flashed.

Ryutaro smiled then, deciding he liked his quirky new companion.  "Indeed."

The sniper relaxed a bit, rolling onto his back and stretching before settling down in a more comfortable position.  Bizarre as he was, Ryutaro wasn't actually too awful…he could be cryptic at the worst times, extremely curious at even worse times, and was often near-impossible to predict or comprehend – but he wasn't too awful.

A glance to his right told Tobio that the fortuneteller was also planning on sleep, and was now laying on his side facing away from the blond.

"You might want to get used to the storms, though," Ryutaro spoke, still wide awake.  "There will be quite a few more during our stay here."

Without a second thought, Tobio yanked his pillow out from under his head and whipped it towards the other teen.