[fic] MEGA-crossover - Jinchi High School 6A/?
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“Hey, Tetsu!” Come here for a second, please~!”
Tetsu sighed, turning towards the boy that the familiarly exuberant voice belonged to.
Ken gestured animatedly for Tetsu to come over to the stairwell where he and several other boys were settling down for the lunch period.
Resignedly, but feeling rather intimidated by the group, Tetsu made his way over, carrying the lunch that Suzuki-san had given him and the other three before they’d left that morning.
“Here!” Ken leapt to his feet, quickening Tetsu’s nervously slow gait by tugging his arm the few feet left between him and the base of the stairwell. “I want you to meet some of my friends.” Ken grinned, slinging an unnoticed arm around Tetsu’s thin shoulders whilst the shorter boy gaped incredulously at the crowd he was being presented to.
“This is only some?!”
Ken didn’t hear him. “Everybody, This is Tetsu.” There was a chorus of ‘hi’s and ‘nice to meet you’s and Ken continued. “We live together.”
Tetsu flushed bright red, waving his hands in an attempt to ward off the eyebrows being raised at Ken’s statement. Ken, however, either didn’t notice or thought it was amusing, so he simply barreled on with the introductions.
“Tetsu, this is Yasu, Kaz, Ju-ken and Sakura, they’re all in my music class. That’s Ein -he’s half German, you know?- he’s in my physics class, and in the back there’s Hide and Ruki-kun, from math, and Takanori who’s in gym with us.”
“Oh, yeah. Um, nice to meet y- nice to meet all of you.” Tetsu greeted nervously, awed by how many friends Ken had managed to make over the course of a day and a half at the school.
They all responded with mumbled likewise pleasantries.
“So, who are you eating with?” Ken asked earnestly.
“Uh… Nobod-… Err, I don’t know…” Tetsu trailed off, embarrassed, but Ken seemed oblivious to this too.
“Oh! Well, if you don’t have plans then you can eat with us!” Ken tugged him over to sit between him and the boy called Kaz on the second step. The smaller boy lost his balance as he was pulled down and landed half on top of Ken with his book-filled bag smacking Kaz in the side, eliciting a soft, startled, yelp from the dark-haired student.
Before Tetsu had a chance to either move or force an apology from between his shock parted lips, Kaz had already done both.
“Sorry…” The tattooed boy mumbled quietly, sliding over on the step so that Tetsu’s bag fell from where it had landed on him heavily.
“Ah, no! It’s my fault!” Tetsu amended, scrambling into a proper sitting position and moving his bag to the floor. “I- uh, didn’t hurt you, did I?”
Kaz looked up at him for a second before turning away awkwardly and shaking his head. “No… I’m fine, thank you.” He murmured genuinely, his voice so soft that Tetsu had to strain to hear him over the noise Ken’s other friends were making behind them.
“He’s kind of shy, but once he knows you better he’ll be fine.” Ken offered in way of explanation.
“Oh… okay.” Tetsu smiled at the tattooed boy again, feeling relieved that at least someone here was more nervous -and perhaps socially awkward- than he was.
He spent most of the period listening to the others’ conversation, contributing only when was necessary (namely, whenever Ken asked him something directly). Luckily, many of Ken’s new friends were nearly as crazy and talkative as he was, so no one wanted to give the spotlight to anyone who didn’t enjoy talking for any lengthy period of time.
“Hyde?” The one called Ju-ken stood suddenly, calling the familiar name up the stairs to someone who had just peeked down from the landing. Both Ken and Tetsu also looked up curiously, and a second later a head of floppy dark hair appeared around the corner, its body following soon after it.
“Hyde! What are you doing here?” Ken exclaimed upon seeing the boy.
“Yeah, why aren’t you with Yuu, Chacha, and Jun-ji?” Ju-ken added.
“Oh, I was, but I had to find Gackt.”
“Gackt?!” Ju-ken looked incredulous. “Uh… why?”
Hyde chuckled. “I’ve got his Biology book. He left it in class today and he’s gonna need it for the homework tonight.” He explained, holding up the heavy book he was carrying. “Yuu and Chacha said those guys he’s with always hang out in a stairwell and left me to find it on my own… I’m a little lost now though.”
“…You’re seriously going to see them?…” Ju-ken blinked dubiously. “…Seriously?”
Hyde nodded. The boys on the stairs exchanged looks. “Well, not them, just him, though I don’t want anything to do with any of them…”
Ju-ken shook his head in disbelief. “You’re a brave kid.” He sighed. “I can give you better directions than those two clowns, but you’ve got to promise not to hold me responsible for whatever happens to you once you get there.”
Hyde laughed, “Sure…” but the sound was a little uneasy.
“Okay, do you know where the math wing is? Well, go from there, straight down and turn left down the hall across from the first staircase on your right. At the end of that hall turn right and go down as far as you can without hitting a wall. There, on your right, will be another staircase.” Ju-ken paused, there was a heavy silence in the air. “They’ll be around the bend on the first landing. There’s a small classroom there, it’s hardly used anymore, so they’ve made it their own. If they’re not out on the stairs then they’re probably inside.”
“Okay, thanks Ju-ken!” Hyde smiled, turning to head for the math wing.
“Wait Hyde-kun, I want to come too!” Ken announced, leaping to his feet. “I’ve never been way down there.”
“Hold on, I’m coming too then!” Tetsu jumped up, not wanting to be left behind with all those near-strangers.
“No guys, it’s too risky.”
“Yeah, Tetsu. You should stay here.”
“What?!”
“I meant you too, Ken.” Hyde corrected. “I can’t let you come with-“
“Whether I’m going with you or not, I still intend to go, Haido-kun.” Ken declared, smirking devilishly.
“Well that goes the same for me then. I’m going too.” Tetsu added, wiping the smirk off Ken’s face entirely.
“But-…”
Tetsu crossed his arms defiantly, and Ken sighed.
Hyde eyed them both, looking like he half wanted to argue some more, but smiling resignedly instead. “Alright, you both might as well come with me then, I could use the company.”
Ken grinned, weaving through his friends to reach Hyde on the landing. Tetsu followed slowly, apologizing to everyone as he attempted not to step on anybody or trip and roll back down.
“Well,” Hyde started, leading the way. “Let’s get this over with…”
Ju-ken and the others watched them go in absolute silence.
“Do you-… Do you think they’ll be alright?” Kaz asked timidly, his quiet voice cutting the silence like a knife.
The one called Hide shook his head, a piece of shockingly bright pink hair falling in front of his eyes as he did so. “Who knows…?”
“I certainly hope so, Kaz.” Ju-ken added. “But, I wouldn’t count on it.”
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The dreaded stairway was dark, but a gold light spilled down from a hidden source on the first landing.
The three that stood nervously in the shadows at its base all stared up at the old steps. This was an ancient section of the school, and you could feel the building’s age in both the air and the general look of the atmosphere here.
Hyde gulped. “Okay,” he whispered, “up we go…”
They mounted the steps as a group. Tetsu was shaking uncontrollably and Ken had to catch him once to keep him from toppling backwards.
“Excuse me?” Hyde said softly as he rounded the corner only to relax his tense expression slightly when he found nobody visible on the steps. Ken and Tetsu both saw this a moment later and released the breath they’d been holding. “Hold on…” Hyde whispered at the sound of their relieved sighs. “Over there…” He pointed, turning the other boys’ attention to the source of the golden light.
There was a door on the landing, as promised. There was no room number or title on its aged wooden surface, and the window was covered by a cloth that let light out but concealed any view of the room’s interior. From behind it there was the sound of muffled laughter, and a dark silhouette moved past the window.
Tetsu shivered.
“…What now?” Ken whispered quietly.
Hyde released his teeth’s hold on his lip -leaving marks behind- and exhaled slowly as he approached the door. His closed fist hesitated in the air for a moment before he knocked timidly on the faded wood. The noise made Tetsu flinch, and then there was dead silence.
Just as they were about to turn and run, a shadow loomed ominously in front of the covered window, blocking out most of the light. Hyde gulped and then the door was flung open, making them all jump.
The boy with bright yellow hair stood looking sternly down at them. More silence. Tetsu tried to turn away but Ken grabbed his bag and turned him back.
Yu~ki looked them over critically once more before drawling in an unamused tone. “… You knocked?”
“Oh, yes. Um, sorry. I was just looking for Gackt-…san… Is he here?” Hyde replied, shifting uncomfortably under the stare.
“Oi! It’s your turn! What’s going on?!” Called a voice from inside. Ken caught a glimpse of the speaker crouched on a desk and pointing at an unfinished game of checkers.
“There are some kids here, looking for Gackt.” Yu~ki answered. “Be patient, Kozi-kun.”
Kozi frowned, hopping off the desk and flicking blood red hair away from his eyes as he approached the door. “Looking for Gackt?… Why?”
Yu~ki shrugged. “I’ve yet to ask them.”
Kozi filled the rest of the doorway, a leering sort of grin appearing on his face as he eyed the trio before him. “I see… Well! Ga-chan isn’t here right now.”
“Oh, okay. Thank you. We’ll just be going then-“ Hyde turned to go but was stopped when Yu~ki grabbed a fistful of his uniform collar and held him in place.
“Not so fast!” Kozi taunted. “I was saying, he’s not here, but we are, and we’d be glad to hear all about your business with him.” He smiled sweetly.
“Umm-“
“I insist.” The redhead added firmly, smile widening as Yu~ki yanked Hyde inside and then slinging his arms around Ken and Tetsu’s shoulders to pull them in too.
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NEXT??
“Hey, Tetsu!” Come here for a second, please~!”
Tetsu sighed, turning towards the boy that the familiarly exuberant voice belonged to.
Ken gestured animatedly for Tetsu to come over to the stairwell where he and several other boys were settling down for the lunch period.
Resignedly, but feeling rather intimidated by the group, Tetsu made his way over, carrying the lunch that Suzuki-san had given him and the other three before they’d left that morning.
“Here!” Ken leapt to his feet, quickening Tetsu’s nervously slow gait by tugging his arm the few feet left between him and the base of the stairwell. “I want you to meet some of my friends.” Ken grinned, slinging an unnoticed arm around Tetsu’s thin shoulders whilst the shorter boy gaped incredulously at the crowd he was being presented to.
“This is only some?!”
Ken didn’t hear him. “Everybody, This is Tetsu.” There was a chorus of ‘hi’s and ‘nice to meet you’s and Ken continued. “We live together.”
Tetsu flushed bright red, waving his hands in an attempt to ward off the eyebrows being raised at Ken’s statement. Ken, however, either didn’t notice or thought it was amusing, so he simply barreled on with the introductions.
“Tetsu, this is Yasu, Kaz, Ju-ken and Sakura, they’re all in my music class. That’s Ein -he’s half German, you know?- he’s in my physics class, and in the back there’s Hide and Ruki-kun, from math, and Takanori who’s in gym with us.”
“Oh, yeah. Um, nice to meet y- nice to meet all of you.” Tetsu greeted nervously, awed by how many friends Ken had managed to make over the course of a day and a half at the school.
They all responded with mumbled likewise pleasantries.
“So, who are you eating with?” Ken asked earnestly.
“Uh… Nobod-… Err, I don’t know…” Tetsu trailed off, embarrassed, but Ken seemed oblivious to this too.
“Oh! Well, if you don’t have plans then you can eat with us!” Ken tugged him over to sit between him and the boy called Kaz on the second step. The smaller boy lost his balance as he was pulled down and landed half on top of Ken with his book-filled bag smacking Kaz in the side, eliciting a soft, startled, yelp from the dark-haired student.
Before Tetsu had a chance to either move or force an apology from between his shock parted lips, Kaz had already done both.
“Sorry…” The tattooed boy mumbled quietly, sliding over on the step so that Tetsu’s bag fell from where it had landed on him heavily.
“Ah, no! It’s my fault!” Tetsu amended, scrambling into a proper sitting position and moving his bag to the floor. “I- uh, didn’t hurt you, did I?”
Kaz looked up at him for a second before turning away awkwardly and shaking his head. “No… I’m fine, thank you.” He murmured genuinely, his voice so soft that Tetsu had to strain to hear him over the noise Ken’s other friends were making behind them.
“He’s kind of shy, but once he knows you better he’ll be fine.” Ken offered in way of explanation.
“Oh… okay.” Tetsu smiled at the tattooed boy again, feeling relieved that at least someone here was more nervous -and perhaps socially awkward- than he was.
He spent most of the period listening to the others’ conversation, contributing only when was necessary (namely, whenever Ken asked him something directly). Luckily, many of Ken’s new friends were nearly as crazy and talkative as he was, so no one wanted to give the spotlight to anyone who didn’t enjoy talking for any lengthy period of time.
“Hyde?” The one called Ju-ken stood suddenly, calling the familiar name up the stairs to someone who had just peeked down from the landing. Both Ken and Tetsu also looked up curiously, and a second later a head of floppy dark hair appeared around the corner, its body following soon after it.
“Hyde! What are you doing here?” Ken exclaimed upon seeing the boy.
“Yeah, why aren’t you with Yuu, Chacha, and Jun-ji?” Ju-ken added.
“Oh, I was, but I had to find Gackt.”
“Gackt?!” Ju-ken looked incredulous. “Uh… why?”
Hyde chuckled. “I’ve got his Biology book. He left it in class today and he’s gonna need it for the homework tonight.” He explained, holding up the heavy book he was carrying. “Yuu and Chacha said those guys he’s with always hang out in a stairwell and left me to find it on my own… I’m a little lost now though.”
“…You’re seriously going to see them?…” Ju-ken blinked dubiously. “…Seriously?”
Hyde nodded. The boys on the stairs exchanged looks. “Well, not them, just him, though I don’t want anything to do with any of them…”
Ju-ken shook his head in disbelief. “You’re a brave kid.” He sighed. “I can give you better directions than those two clowns, but you’ve got to promise not to hold me responsible for whatever happens to you once you get there.”
Hyde laughed, “Sure…” but the sound was a little uneasy.
“Okay, do you know where the math wing is? Well, go from there, straight down and turn left down the hall across from the first staircase on your right. At the end of that hall turn right and go down as far as you can without hitting a wall. There, on your right, will be another staircase.” Ju-ken paused, there was a heavy silence in the air. “They’ll be around the bend on the first landing. There’s a small classroom there, it’s hardly used anymore, so they’ve made it their own. If they’re not out on the stairs then they’re probably inside.”
“Okay, thanks Ju-ken!” Hyde smiled, turning to head for the math wing.
“Wait Hyde-kun, I want to come too!” Ken announced, leaping to his feet. “I’ve never been way down there.”
“Hold on, I’m coming too then!” Tetsu jumped up, not wanting to be left behind with all those near-strangers.
“No guys, it’s too risky.”
“Yeah, Tetsu. You should stay here.”
“What?!”
“I meant you too, Ken.” Hyde corrected. “I can’t let you come with-“
“Whether I’m going with you or not, I still intend to go, Haido-kun.” Ken declared, smirking devilishly.
“Well that goes the same for me then. I’m going too.” Tetsu added, wiping the smirk off Ken’s face entirely.
“But-…”
Tetsu crossed his arms defiantly, and Ken sighed.
Hyde eyed them both, looking like he half wanted to argue some more, but smiling resignedly instead. “Alright, you both might as well come with me then, I could use the company.”
Ken grinned, weaving through his friends to reach Hyde on the landing. Tetsu followed slowly, apologizing to everyone as he attempted not to step on anybody or trip and roll back down.
“Well,” Hyde started, leading the way. “Let’s get this over with…”
Ju-ken and the others watched them go in absolute silence.
“Do you-… Do you think they’ll be alright?” Kaz asked timidly, his quiet voice cutting the silence like a knife.
The one called Hide shook his head, a piece of shockingly bright pink hair falling in front of his eyes as he did so. “Who knows…?”
“I certainly hope so, Kaz.” Ju-ken added. “But, I wouldn’t count on it.”
+++++++++
The dreaded stairway was dark, but a gold light spilled down from a hidden source on the first landing.
The three that stood nervously in the shadows at its base all stared up at the old steps. This was an ancient section of the school, and you could feel the building’s age in both the air and the general look of the atmosphere here.
Hyde gulped. “Okay,” he whispered, “up we go…”
They mounted the steps as a group. Tetsu was shaking uncontrollably and Ken had to catch him once to keep him from toppling backwards.
“Excuse me?” Hyde said softly as he rounded the corner only to relax his tense expression slightly when he found nobody visible on the steps. Ken and Tetsu both saw this a moment later and released the breath they’d been holding. “Hold on…” Hyde whispered at the sound of their relieved sighs. “Over there…” He pointed, turning the other boys’ attention to the source of the golden light.
There was a door on the landing, as promised. There was no room number or title on its aged wooden surface, and the window was covered by a cloth that let light out but concealed any view of the room’s interior. From behind it there was the sound of muffled laughter, and a dark silhouette moved past the window.
Tetsu shivered.
“…What now?” Ken whispered quietly.
Hyde released his teeth’s hold on his lip -leaving marks behind- and exhaled slowly as he approached the door. His closed fist hesitated in the air for a moment before he knocked timidly on the faded wood. The noise made Tetsu flinch, and then there was dead silence.
Just as they were about to turn and run, a shadow loomed ominously in front of the covered window, blocking out most of the light. Hyde gulped and then the door was flung open, making them all jump.
The boy with bright yellow hair stood looking sternly down at them. More silence. Tetsu tried to turn away but Ken grabbed his bag and turned him back.
Yu~ki looked them over critically once more before drawling in an unamused tone. “… You knocked?”
“Oh, yes. Um, sorry. I was just looking for Gackt-…san… Is he here?” Hyde replied, shifting uncomfortably under the stare.
“Oi! It’s your turn! What’s going on?!” Called a voice from inside. Ken caught a glimpse of the speaker crouched on a desk and pointing at an unfinished game of checkers.
“There are some kids here, looking for Gackt.” Yu~ki answered. “Be patient, Kozi-kun.”
Kozi frowned, hopping off the desk and flicking blood red hair away from his eyes as he approached the door. “Looking for Gackt?… Why?”
Yu~ki shrugged. “I’ve yet to ask them.”
Kozi filled the rest of the doorway, a leering sort of grin appearing on his face as he eyed the trio before him. “I see… Well! Ga-chan isn’t here right now.”
“Oh, okay. Thank you. We’ll just be going then-“ Hyde turned to go but was stopped when Yu~ki grabbed a fistful of his uniform collar and held him in place.
“Not so fast!” Kozi taunted. “I was saying, he’s not here, but we are, and we’d be glad to hear all about your business with him.” He smiled sweetly.
“Umm-“
“I insist.” The redhead added firmly, smile widening as Yu~ki yanked Hyde inside and then slinging his arms around Ken and Tetsu’s shoulders to pull them in too.
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NEXT??